THE WORLD BANK GROUP ARCHIVES

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE AUTHORIZED

Folder Title: Travel briefs, Sierra Leone (01/01/1973-31/01/1973)

Folder ID: 1772662

ISAD(G) Reference Code: WB IBRD/IDA 03 EXC-10-4540S

Series: Travel briefings

Sub-Fonds: Records of President Robert S. McNamara Fonds: Records of the Office of the President

Digitized: May 16, 2013

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PUBLIC DISCLOSURE AUTHORIZED

DATE

Jan. 9 Tues.

Jan. 10 Wed.

Jan. 11 Thurs.

Jan. 12 Fri.

Jan. 13 Sat.

TIME GMT

1650 ·'· 2150 1745 2245 1900 2400

0720 0720 0800 0800

1520 1520 1700 1900 0800

1100

12iff 1~33b 3:5-:3e-/. 1600

1900 2000

1200 1330 1 .. 400 1500

1615 1715

1845 1915 2000

0715 0730

0830 0915

1015 1130

1400 1400

VISIT TO WEST AFRICA, January 9-20, 1973

Depart Washington (National) Arrive New York ·(JFK) Depart New York (JFK)

Arrive Dakar Depart Dakar

Re,·:.sec January 8, 1973

REMARKS

NA153 (727)

PA184 (707) •

RK502 (Caravelle) (Bamako GMT 0940-1025) (Abidjan GMT 1125-1315) (Accra GMT 1410-1450)

Arrive Lome Meet UNDP ResRep. Dinner (private) Depart Lome Visit SONAPH oil palm plantation; oil palm nursery at Agou; OPAT coffee and cocoa nursery; IFCC coffee aRS. soeea Fe:!!eat'"t."h-

Villas of the Entente At Villa

(by car)

Arrive Palime welcome by local authorities Visit Palime~ r a ) /' Lunch at Palime(f.._;z;{ #?~ ?~"'p ..,-M~ 7 t-~; Depart Palime (by car) Arrive Lome Working session with Government officials (until 1800) Meeting with President Eyadema Dinner hosted by President

Depart Lome Visit Port of Lome

Tropicana German tourism ,Sj'_!l~ex . CT:f:.'IB .phosphate plant and~ -.~.~

Lunch at Togo Lake Depart for Dahomey-Togo border Arrive Togo-Dahomey border Welcome at border, change cars, depart for

Cotonou Arrive Cotonou Depart for Porto Novo Visit bridge at lagoon entrance Visit Porto Novo, welcome by prefect of

Oueme region Depart Porto Novo Arrive Cotonou Meeting with U~DP ResRep . Dinner (private)

Depart Cotonou Arrive Ab omey- Calavi on lagoon Visit Ganvie lake village Depart Ab omey-Calav.· Arrive Grand H' nvi Visit agricult ral pro'ect ~~~$Sbl.l Depart Grand Hinvi Arrive Abo ey Vi sit museum and handicraft manufacturers

(by car)

..(sy hsrJieefJt":ert

(by car)

Villas of t e ~t ~te

(by car)

At Villa. ·

(by car

(by boat ) (by car)

DATE

Jan. 14 Sun.

Jan. 15 Mon.

TIME GMT

1230 1345 1530 1630

:.,

1930 2030

0645 0700 0600 0730 0630 0800 0700

Lunch at Prefect's residence Depart Abomey Arrive Cotonou Working session with Government officials Meeting with President Dinner hosted by President

Depart villas for airport Depart Cotonou Arrive Lagos Depart Lagos

RE.:. .ARKS

Government plane

WT945 . (F28) (Accra GMT 0750-0820) (Monrovia GMT 1010-1040

1130 1130 1200

Arrive Freetown Tour Freetown bay by ship Informal lunch on board

14Se J4 ib Arrive Cape Sierra Hotel -±§.G.QJ6 , .b Meet with Minister of Finance'-""N'?~ 7 JJ~. 1~/?~ Meet with Ministers ~~~~ )(' Meet with Minister of Agriculture ~flb Meet with Minister of Education ~~1~ Meet with Minister of Public Works

1 4f l/J ~1mer ~!J:Ilry · y4 S.t).,.,-vln .J;'~ i3i ·~ ~~ 7 ~~ ' 081~ Depart Hotel 0830 Depart airport Government plane 0930 Arrive Yengema

Visit DIMINCO diamond mining operations~~ Depart Yengema J.~- ~ ; Arrive Kenema ., ~~ J, ~ !!e:neA: a:nd 'Briefing on agrical'EttFal deuele~

~ ~ Visit agricultural~-~~~-~b~~~t~a~e~i~~~s and oil palm mill~ 1>~ -r ~~ 1f""~

1530 Depart Kenema 1630 Arrive Freetown ~~1~ Meet withV-l'lFsa&ieiEiiC: Ste v e~ and Minister

of Finance~ Y P .!jj,• Jan. 16A.,;_;J,~~:f!'::!:s:~dent Tues. ~ ~ llepart :I'D£ t!aiu!!n;i.e,-

1~ Meet with University officials ~ Depart for airport~~ 1130 1130 Depart Freetown I I 1215 1215 Arrive Robertsfield 1220 Depart Robertsfield 1300 Arrive Monrovia 1330 Lunch with Finance Minister Tolbert ~~S~ Courtesy call on Minister of Foreign Affairs

with Minister Tolbert

1800 1900

Meet with Ministers Meet with PUA officials on Power and Communications Meet with -~inister of Agriculture on Rural Development Meet with UNDP ResRep. Dinner (private)

Government plane

Government plane

at Hotel

0

GH54"' fF28)

(by car) Hotel Ducor at Hotel

at Hotel

DATE

Jan. 17 Wed.

Jan. 18 Thurs.

Jan. 19 Fri.

Jan. 20 Sat.

TIME GMT

0810 ,0830 0930

1130 1230 1300

1415 1445

1530 ~1SI/r

~!(U 1900

0815 0830 0930 1000 1200 1230 1400 1415 1545 1600 1700 1800

~~· ... 0915 0930 1300 1600

ltlf3~

1645 1645

2305 2330

0045

0405 0430

0545

· RE:t--IAfu.rzS

Depart ·hotel Depart Monrovia Government plane Arrive Foya, Lofa County Visit Foya rural development project Meet with 1ocal "officials and Paramount Chief Lunch at Foya Depart Foya Arrive Zorzor Visit Teacher. Training College Depart Zorzor Arrive Sanniequellie Visit hospital Depart Sanniequellie Arrive Nimba (Yekepa village) Visit LAMCO Iron Ore Hine Arrive Lamco Lodge .Dinner (private)

Depart Lamco Lodge Depart Nimba ~ Arrive ~:fl:t:ocia Visit Liberian rubbe farmers Arrive Hotel Ducor Lunch (private) Depart for University Meet with University officials Depart University Meet with Liberian entrepreneurs Neet with Liberian bankers Heet with Liberian leading personalities ~~ej?~~sted by President Tolbert

Depart hotel Meet with President at Mansion Lunch (private) Depart hotel Depart Robertsfield

Arrive .few York (JFK) Depart New York (JFK)

Arrive Washington (National)

Government plane

Government plane

(by car)

Government plane

(by car)

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Sierra Leone Briefing Book

INDEX

A. Itinerary

B. Airport Statement

C. Map and State Department Background Notes

D. Cabinet Composition and Other Biographical Data

E. Topics for Discussion

F. Reference Material

i. Count~ Program Note, September LB, 1972

ii. Updating Memorandt.nn on Economic Situation

iii. Freetown (Chapter III of "Journey without Maps" by Graham Greene_- 1936)

iv. Historical, Social and Political Background

v. The World Market Outlook for Diamonds

vi. Excerpts from the Appraisal and President 1 s Reports on the Integrated Agricultural Development Credit

vii. Excerpts from the Appraisal Report on the Education Credit

G. Bank Group Operations

H. UNDP Activities

I. Information Materials

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

SIERRA LEONE

Program for Hr. McNamara's Visit - January 14-16, 1973 v

Itinerary

January 14 13:00

. 13:30

·15:00 15:30

17:00 17:45 18:30

January 15

Arrive Freetown from Lome (private plane) Tour Freetown Bay by ship

Informal lunch on board Meeting; Minister of Finance General briefing, Sierra Leone's economic

development prospects and problems Meeting, Minister of Agriculture Meeting, Minister of Education Meeting, Minister of Public Works

Evening free- st~ at Cape Sierra Hotel

08:30 Depart Freeto1n1 by private plane 09:30 Arrive Yengema. Visit DIMINCO diamond

mining operations 11:45 . Depart Yengema by private plane 12:10· Arr i ve Kenema 12:20 Gener al br ief ing on agricultural development

programs during informal lunch 13:30 · ... ~-~ · ; , __ ,: .gricu1tural research station and oil

palm mill 15 :30 Depart Kenema by private plane 16:30 Ar1·l ve Freetmm 18:00 Final session with President and Minister

of Finance 20:00 Official dinner by President

January 16 08:30 Meeting with UNDP Resident Representative 09:00 Visit to Fourah Bay University and meeting

with universi t y officials . 10:30 Depart for airport ll: 30 Depart Freetmm for Monrovia GH 541

J• .'' ·-

\

Tab Reference in

Briefing Book

F (iii)

E & G F (i) & (ii)

F (vi) & G F (vii) & G G

F (v)

F (vi)

E & G

H

..._ .. I

Mr. McNamara '.s Visit to Sierra Leone

Airport Statement (On Arrival) ..

Mrs. McNamara and I are delighted to be in Sierra Leone and we are grateful for the kind invitation that has been extended to us to visit your beautiful country.

The major purpose of our visit is to learn to understand at first hand the development potentials and heeds of your country, and, to find out how we in the World Bank can assist you more effectively in the task of raising the standard of living' and the quality of life for the people of Sierra Leone. Development is a complicat~d and difficult task and, as you know, involves very hard choices. I do not wish to pretend that we at the World Bank know all the answers. We certainly do not. Development, after all, is not an exact science. But 1-re have found., · through our experience in Africa and else­where in the world, that we can contribute to what is surely one of the momentous human endeavors of our time -- the quest for a better life by the peoples of the developing countries.

In Si6rra Leone our contribution has been so far relatively modest. We have loaned fo"r a total of a little more than $23 million since the first loan was made in 1964 for expansion of the electricity system; other loans have gone for education, highways and agriculture. This last field -­agriculture ~- is a most import sector, as President Stevens has so often emphasized . l:fe hope, in the future, to be . able to expand our assistance in this yital area.

A maiJ o~jecti~e o£ our lending in agriculture and other sectors is to help provide better opportunities for progress and advancement for the common man in ~ierra Leone. The improvement of the individual lives of the great mass of people is, in the final analysis, the most real and central function· of development activity. Development, I should hasten to add, is not simply an occasional Wor~Bank operation, a road project here or a power facility there. Rather it is hard work, sacrifice, and strenuous effort to mobilize scarce resources -- both financial and hun1an and then careful deployment of those resources in a manner that will gain maximum benefits to the economy. These vital ~asks can only be performed by the governments and peoples of the developing countries themselves. We in the World Bank can only be a minor partner in this immense undertaking -- at best we can be catalysts. When a government and it's people show that they are united in their determina tion to promote long-term development -- and not interested -in sacrificing it for merely short-term and temporary benefits -- then we can provide meaningful assistance.

/ . ----------------·- -- ~..,.

We wish to explore ways of helping to create a better and more productive life for all the people of this nation. As you shm.v that you can move ahead on_ that course, we in the World Bank stand ready to assist~you in that mission. It is for the purpose of seeking to find means of improving that assistance that I have come to Sierra Leone. Thank you.

I I

r··

7•

13° IS

A

0 c e an

SIERRA LEO. E INTEGRATED AGRICULTUR

DEVELOPMENT PROJECT 3cole of Miles

tO 5 0 10 20

tz•

tz• l

. ~~

/ LlBERIA

- ----Paved

----- Unpaved M1;;1str y of Worl<s \: ::ss; j

------ Unpaved D•stnct Counc•I(C•oss II)

• Ur.der Cons ruct•on, IDA Cree • 2 10

Ro 11 ways

"t lrternot.onal A1rpor t

[-~-::::5] Pro;ec t Are-o

If•

I I

r~ I

SEPHM&ER 1971 ..,.. --- · ~ -·. ·---~-~--- ··- ··-----------------'----------------, -;;~-o-3-,·-l~i<t

(.

I (

Population: 2. 6 million (1971 est.) Capital: Freetown

Sierra Leone is located in West Africa and '1as an area of 27,925 square miles, almost as

· __ arge as South Carolina. It has a 210-mile-long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean· and shares com­mon borders with Liberia to the southeast and Guinea to the north and northeast.

There are three main ecological regions: a coastal belt of mangrove swamps about 60 miles in wldtn; stretches of wooded hill countr:r; and an u land plateau with mOuntains near the eastern frontier rising from 4,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level. The tallest peak, Bintimani; is 6, 029 feet high. . .

Sierra Leone is within the tropics; tempera­tures and humidity are high, and rainfall is heavy. The average temperature is approximately 80° F., with a range of about 10 degrees on the coast and '0 degrees inland. Rainfall is greatest along the ~oast, espe_cially on high ground, and amounts to more than 125 inch~s annually in most parts of the country. There are two distinct seasons; the dry season lasts from November to April and the wet season the rest of th~ year, with maximum precipitation in July ,-August, and September.

The national flag consists of three horizontal bars-green, white, and blue from top to bottom.

Sl R l 0

Islam is th_e religion of the Sierra Leoneans in the north, while the Creole population (descendants of freed slaves), located primarily at Freetown, has , adopted ChriStianity. The inland peoples are predominantly animist and pagan.

HISTORY

Sierra Leone can claim a certain historical seniority in British West Africa. Following a visit in 1460, the Portuguese explorer Pedro de Cinta gave the Sierra Leonean territory its name, which means "lion mountain." The first English­man to arrive ,vas John Hawkins, who came in search of slaves in 1562. Sir Francis Drake step­ped ashore in 1580.

The first fo reif:,rn settlements were planned as a ha en within the British Empire for freed slaves. In 1787 a number of freedmen, with a group of Negroes who were emanei_pated after their f1 ight from the rebellious U.S. colonies, arrived at the site of Freeto~vn. They were virtually wiped out by disease and tribal attacks. In 1791 another group arrived under the auspices of the newly formed (British) Sierra Leone Company, which exel' Cis.:;;d ad11iillistrative pu-v..'er· over the settl~-ment. In 1808, when financial burdens became too

THE PEOPLE great for the company, the coasta l area was an-- nexed as a British Crown Colony.

In 1971 Sierra Leone had a population estimated The slave trade was abolished by an act of at 2.6 million, with an annual growth rate of about Parliament in 1807, and a naval squadron was

r 1.5 percent (one of the lowest in Africa). Popula- stationed off Sierra Leone to intercept .slave ships. f on density is approximately 93 -persons per A courtofvice-admiraltywas established at Free-

square mile. FreetO\Yn has about 200,000 inhabi- town to try slave traders. When the other European tants. nations agreed to abolish slave tra de in 1815-after

The indigenous population is divided into ap- the- Napoleonic wars-the vice-admiralty court proximately 20 tribes, of which the Temne (in the was supplemented by courts of mixed commission. north) and the Mende (in the south) are~rgest, Thousands of slaves . were liberated at Free-each claiming afiout 30 percent of the total popula- town after the first slave ship was condemned in tion. During the 19th century, Sierra Leone was _____ 1808. Most of them chose to r einain in Sierra a melting pot for freed slaves. Today, about Leone: These liberated Africans, or Creoles as 80,000 persons are settlers or descendants of they came to be called, came from all parts of settlers from oth£:r-Mx: ~g~:::~~:t::r d~:,,j es. ·.T :."-; .e are Africa. Cut off from their homes and traditions, approx imately 4,500 Europeans and Asians living they assimilated the English style of living, built in the country. a flourishing trade, and took full advantage of the

_,.,. English is the official language but i · limited schools established by the Chur ch .Missionar y '( · 1 the educated elite. A form of pidgin English Society and the Methodists. ' -..,_nown as Kr io plays the role of a "lingua .franca" During the early part of the 19th century Free-

among the tribal groups. Literacy is estimated town was the residence of the British Governor, at 10 percent. '-- who also ruled over The Gambia and the Gold

~ .

\

E

:

SIERRA LEONE - ••- Interna tional bound<try

® National cap ital

Railroad

Road

~ . 0 10 20 30 40 50 Miles

l. OJ-I ---,,..-L'-,-.,..J'L-.,~...,.,510-K__.~;_o· tum. e____.JI .. ~r:.._-,..-.,.. tb io ,0 .0 '"

512434 11-71

u

Coast settlements. It was only as British power · penetrated · inland that the quadripartite division of Nigeria, Gold Coast (now Ghana), Sierra Leone , and The Gambia emerged.

Sierra Leone at this time was also the educa­tional center of British West Africa. Fourah Bay . ~allege, _e.stahl ished in 1864, became the mecca

r English-speaking Africans on the west coast.

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For this reason many families with connections in Sierra Leone· ·.'.'an be found today in Ghana and Nigeria. •

By 1881, through treaties of cession, Sierra Leone's boundaries were defined. The colon·· developed trade and missionary connections wit the tribes in the hinterland, which gradually be­came a British sphere of "nfluence e 1circled by

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areas of French hegemony. In 1896 a British pro­-. tectorate was extended over the interior, .and the

1area of French control was delimited. Political · dualism between protectorate and colony persisted

until independence. After 1863 executive and legisla ive functions in the colony were divided between an Executive Council and a Legislative Council. An elected Municipal Council governed Freetown. The protectorate was administered in the classic British pattern of indirect rule.

Sierra Leone's journey to independence was a peaceful one. In 1924 the Legislative Council was reconstituted to include tribal chiefs represent?..­tive of the protectorate. In addition to tribal rep­resentatives, prov ision was made for the election

"' of three unofficial members from the colony, -m.although a restrictive property qualification was ,

3 attached to the franchise. In 1939 e"A"tensive re-forms were undertaken to modernize the adminis­tration of . the · protectorate, and in 1946 the pro­tectorate gained an assembly of its own.

The cons itu wn prov1 e e frame-work for decolonization. Ministerial responsi­bility was introduced in 1953 when Sir Milton Margai was appointed chief minister. He became

· Prime Minister after successful 'Constitutional talks at London in 1960. Sierra Leone became

· n ependen on A ril 27 196 with a parliamert­ary form of , government within the Common­

weal h of Nations. In April 1971 it adopted a republican Constitution.

·o . _., GOVERNMENT

Under the 1971 Constitution, Sierra Leone has an executive form of government. Execut ive au- -thority is exercised by t-he Presiderlt (Chief of State and Head, of ·Government) and his Cabinet. The President, ' who is elected by parliament for a 5-year term, 1 appoints as Prime Minister the leader _of the p8.rty f: b~.t t:'0rrvn~nrl~ ::\ m~jority in parliament; he also appoints Cabinet Ministers.

The unicameral House of Representatives (parliament) consists of 78 members. Sixty-·six are popularly elec ed, and the remaining members are paramount chiefs representing tribal counc ils from their respective districts. The house is

r~ elected to a 5-year term, but ele.ctions may be \..,_.

0 called earlier.

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The highes t court in the independent judiciary is the Court of Appeals whose judges are appointed by the President.

For administrative purposes Sierra Leone is divided into three Provinces (comprising 12 diQtricts) and _ a ·-western reg1on, wh.ich .includ s Freetovm and its adjacent rural area. A para­mount chief and a council of elders constitute the b sic unit of local government, while each Province is governed by a Minister with cabinet rank. The Freetown area retains a separate council.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Sir Milton Marga i's Sierra Leone Heople's Party (SLPP) became the major political party following the general election in 1957. In 1960 the lesser parties joined the SLPP to form a

· coalition government, which guided the country through independence to the first general elec­tions under universal adult franchise in May 1962. Sir Milton emerged victorious over a new opposi­tion party, the All People's Congress (APC), which had run strongly in the north.

Sir Milton died in 1964 and was succeeded as Prime Minister by--his half-brother, Sir 41bert Margai, who was then Minister of Finance. Sir Alber empted to establish a one-party political system in Sierra Leone. Although party switches reduced the minority's seats in the House of Representatives to 10, the APC fiercely re­sisted the drive for a one-party system and the effort ultimately was abandoned.

In close elections on March 17, 1967, the APC won a plurality of the parliarfientary seats. The Governor General declared Siaka Steyens, leader of the AP~ and Mayor of < Freetown, as Prime Minister. Three days later Brig. David Lansana, Force Commander of the Royal Sierra Leone Military For.ces, placed the leaders of both parties under house arrest pending the election of the tribal representatives to the House of Hep­resentatives. On March 23 a g_roup of senior army officers seized control ·of the C'TOver 1ment, ar­rested Brig. Lansana, and suspended the constitu­tion. This group constituted itself as tile Nat ional Reformation· Council (NRC) with Brig. A. T. Juxon­Smith as Chairman. Late in 1967 the NRC agreed to return Sierra Leone to civilian rule andnamed a Civilian .Rule Committee to decide on the means of bringing about the change . However, a "ser­geants' revolt" in April 1968, which saw the NRC members im.prisoned and army and police officers deposed, paved the way for Stevens to assume

· the office of Prime Minister. Stevens' Cabinet was selected as a "national" Government, en­cmnpassing the two major parties and tribes and all national regions, in an effort to consolidate his position.

Byelections, which began in the fall of 1968, were concluded in the spring of 1969, and an all APC Cabinet was appointed. In 1970. a new opposition party, the United Democratic Party (UDP) , was formed but was outlawed after an alleged coup d'etat plot was uncovered. In March

·1971 there was an attempted military coup which resulted in the execution of three former army officers, including ' Force Commander John Bangura. The House of Representatives appointed Sjg.l<a Stevens PFesiaent of the Hept1blie tfl: 4 pril. , 1971 under the new republican Constitution.

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ECONOMY ~o Si.erra Leone's gross dome1s\i roduct (GDP)

was estimated at U.S. $427 lion in 1970 (the latest year for which reliable figures are avail­able). Approximately 85 percent of the pe_qn!e liye on the ],.and; agricUlture ts by far the most important sector of the economy. Although rice is the basic food crop, Sierra Leone is not self­sufficient in this commodity. During 1970 rice imports amounted to $6 million. Palm kernels

· cocoa, coffee, ginger, and piassava (stiff, coars~ fiber from certain palm trees) are the most im­portant agricultural exports. In recent years they have accounted for about 20 percent of the total exports. Diamonds and iron ore are Sierra Leone's leading exports. ..

The United Kingdom- is Sierra Leone's prin­cipal trading partner, although its share of the total bas dropped markedly since Sierra Leone's independence. The United Kingdom purchases almost 70 percent of the export market and is well represented in import categories. Japan, ' through its larg.e textile trade, has been the second largest supplier of merchandise in recent years, followed by the Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands. The Netherlands ranks second to the U.K. as a buyer of Sierra Leone's exports. Total exports in 1970 · amounted to about $101 million. ·

The United States has remained relatively uni1nportant in Sierra Leone's export market. In 1970 the United States bought 6 percent of its total expor ts-ma inly rutil e, diamonds, and coffee­a nd accounted for ·about 9 .percent of its imports, pri c ipally .food products, machine ry parts, and appliances. Total imports in 1970 were estimated at about $116 million. -..

Sierra Leone's major industry is the mining of diamonds of gem and industrial quality. Mining rights are divided between the concession area of the Diam ond Minine; Co. (51 pe!'Ce!1t c y,n"'cd hy tt; ,~ Governm ent of Swrra Le"one and 49 percent by the fornwr Sierra Leone Selection Trust) and an alluvial scheme designed to encourage small operators to mine modest plots in the diamund­bearing area. In 1970-.. diamond exports were valued at approximately $61 million, almost two thirds of Sierra Leone's total exports by value. Nearly all diamonds are eA.'Ported to the United Kingdom , initially. Dia mond smuggling continues to be a s~rious problem , but the establis hment of the Government Diamond Office has subs tantially reduced l osses in this sector.

Other mineral exports inelude ir on ore baux­ite, and rutile. The Brit is h-owned Sierra' LeOne , Develop. · ent Co. (DELCO) extracts ir on or e at the rate of a bout 2- 2.5 m illion tons a nnually, with Japan a s a major purchas er. Bauxite pr oduction by the Swiss --owned Sierra Leone Or e and Metal Co. totaled 450,000 tons during 1970. The major U.S. investm ent was an 80 percent partic ipation with British interests in t e Sherbr o Mine rals Company hic h b-... gan large- scale m ining of rut ile ore in 1966. The Sierra Leoue depos it i.s believed

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to be among the richest in the world. Rutile, a form o titanium oxide, is processed for use in -paints and metal alloys and is also used in space . ) technology. After continued production proble:rns, · -• Sherbro minerals went b~71. In Febru-ary 1972 Sierra Rutile Ltd . a new U.S.-owned company, started operations with the hope of returning the rutile mines to full production.

The developmental efforts o'f the Margai gov­ernment in 1965 and 1966 became snagged on large budget deficits and balance-of-lJayments prob­lems. The financial situation became so grave that in late 1966 the Government of Sierra Leone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signed a $7.5 million standby agreement aimed at in­ternal fiscal stabilization. Sierra Leone's econ­o3my in 1968-69 took a turn for the better. After _, ~

years of stabilization, pressure on the foreign exchange reserves had been relieved, and the budgetary deficit eliminated. Key economic in­dicators were up: diamond production was at a high level, the Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Board (SLPMB) was once agai.n operating in the black, and the tempo of economic activity had picked up.

Due primarily to a depressed world diamond market, 1970 was not a good year for Sierra Leone's economy and at present the economic outlook is not encouraging. The Government has proclaimed an "open door" to foreign invest­ment although it has declared itt_; intention event­ually to obta in majority ownership in all mining compan_ies.

FOREIGN RELATIONS Sierra Leone has followed a foreign policy of

nonalignment, although it historically · has been oriented towctrd cordial relatio11s with the United Kingdom and the United States. It also maintains diplomatic relations with the u.s:s.R. and several East F.11rnp<?an ~01_! !!trics. The G:::;-v·~rnme:nt o.r Sierra Leone recognized the People's Republic of China in 1971.

Sierra Leone plays an active role in the United Nations and its specialized a gencies. For the 1969-70 term it was on the U.N. Security Council. It is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

Like mos t other . independent African s tates · Sierra Leone condemns the apartheid polic; (statutory rac ial segregation) of the Republic of South Africa and supports s elf-determination for Portugal's Afr ican territories. It advoca tes the use of force by the United Kingdom to remove the

. Ian Sm1t!1 -government in Southern Rhodesia.

U S. -SIERRA LEONE RELATIONS U.S. r elations with Sierra Leone began· with

American m is sionary activity during the 19th century. In 1959 the United States opened a Cm!­sula te at Freeto1.vn, which was elevated to Em ­bassy status when Sierra Leone became . inde­pendent.

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L'l 1970 the United States provided Sierra r~ eone with about $3 million in technical assist­! )ice funds concentrated in agriculture, rural de­

"velopment, health, and education. Agr icultural products valued at $1 million were provided under the Public Law 480 (Food for Peace) program. Through '~ the auspices of the Agency for Inter­national Development (AID), the University of illinois is assisting in agricultural education at Sierra Leone's Njala University College. There are approximately 270 Peace Corps volunteers in Sierra Leone primarily engaged in teaching and community development activities.

Major objectives of U.S. policy have been to cooperate with the Government of Sierra Leone ·."" strengthening its educational system and agri-~tural capabilities. Each year the U.S. Govern­

ment, in cooperation with the Sierra Leonean Government, invites prominent government of­ficials, media representatives, educators, and scholars .. to visit the United States to become better acquainted with the American people and to exchange ideas and views of mutual interest with their American colleagues. This cooperative effort in mutual understanding is furthered through visits to Sierra Leone by representatives of American business and educational institutions, as well as by visits of Fulbright-Hays scholars and specialists in a variety of fields.

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PRINCIPAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS / \

Minister of Social Welfare-S.A. T. KOROMA Minister of Development-Sahr Washingtoncava

GANDI-CAPIO Minister of Housing and Country Planning,...M.O.

COLE Minister of Labor-F.B. TURA Y Ambassador to the U.S.-J.A.C. DAVIES Ambassador to the U.N.-I.B. TAYLOR-KAMARA

Sierra Leone maintains an Embassy in the United States at 1701 19th Street, N.W., Washing­ton, D.C. 20009.

PRINCIPAL U.S. OFFICIALS

Ambassador­Counselor-Donald K. Petterson Public Affairs Officer (USIS)-James Jensen Peace Corps Director-Collins Reynolds

The U.S. Embassy in Sierra Leone is located at 8 Trelawney Street, Freetown. t

READ lNG LIST

Clarke, W. R. E. The Morning Star of Africa. London: Macmillan, 1960.

Dalton, K. G. A Geography of Sierra Leone. London: Cambridge University Press, 1965.

Fyfe, Christopher H. A History of Sierra Leone.

. . . .· . :.. feside.nt; Minister of Defens_~._~i~Cl: S ~ 'E:VENS. · . :·;· .. :·: ·! :~: •. ·.· : ~·~Vice· · ·Pres·iaeiit;~ wtxie ' Mxhi.stei--·;' ·M rn"ish=,r cit .t.··i-· .. :

London: Oxford University Press, 1961. .K.Us<;m, .. 1):1a.r~in. Political Cbange in~ We.st.Afripan~ . ... ,. ..!- -/ . .'.- .' .

·:state. ··Cainbrfctge: Harvard Ui'iiversity Press, - · ·· · ··

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t erior-S.I. KOROMA Miniuter of Finance-C.A. CAMARA-rlAYLOR Minister of External Affairs-$olomonA.J. PRATT Minister of Land? ang Mines-S.B. KAWUSU-

CONTEH I Minister of Trade and Industry-Saidu Alieu

FOFANAH Minister of Works-D.F. SHEARS Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources­

Sembu FORNA Minister of Information and Broadcasting-M.

Al imamy KHAZA~I Minister of Health-J. HADSON-TAYLOR

>ister of Education-J. BARTHES-WILSON bJ.lnister of Transport and Communications­

Edward J. Y~GBO

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l966. Kup, A. P. A History of Sierra Leone 1400--1787.

London: Cambridge University Press, 1961. Kup, A. P. The Story of Sierra Leone. London:

Cambridr;e University Press, 1964. Little, Kenneth L. West African Urbanization.

Lonrlo : C~_ml) :!'idge University Press, 1955. Porter, Arthur T. Creoledom. London: Oxford

University Press, 1963. --Sumne:r:, Doyle. A History of Education in Sierra

Leone. London: Jarrold, 1963. West, Richard. Back to Africa: A History of

Sierra Leone and Liberia. New York: Holt, 1971. Zell, Hans M. A Bibliography of Non-Periodical

Literature 011 Sierra Leone, 1925-1966. Free­town: University Colleg·e of Sierra Leone.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION 8069 Revised March 1972

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Office of Media Services Bureau of Public Affairs

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ElffiASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE WASHINGTON, D. C.

CABINET MINISTERS

President and Minister of Defence

Vice President, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior

Minister of Finance

Minister of External Affairs

Minister of Lands & Mines

Minister of Labour

Minister of Trade & Industry

Minister of Education

Minister of Health

Minister of Information & Broadcasting

Minister of Agriculture & Natural Resources

Minister of Development

Minister of Transport & Communications

Minister of Works

Minister of Social Welfare

Minister of Housing & Country Planning

Minister of State & Leader of the House

Ministers of State

- H. E. Dr. Siaka Probyn stevens

- The Hon. S. I. Koroma

- The Hon C. A. Kamara-Taylor

-The Hon. S. A. J. Pratt

- The Hon. S. B. Kawasu-Konte

- The Hon. F. B. Turey

- The Ron. S. A. Fofana

- The Hon. J. Barthes Wilson

-The Hon. J. C. 0. Hadson-Taylor

- The Hon. A. Khazali

- The Hon. A. G. Sembu Forna

- The Hon. s. w. Gandi-Capio

- The Hon. F. J. Kangbo

- The Ron. D. F. Shears

- The Hon. s. A. T. Koroma

- The Ron. N. A. P. Buck

- The Ron. A. B. Jemeh

- The Hon. P. C. Bai Kobolo

- The Hon. P. C. Jaia Kai Kai

Resident Minister, Northern Province

Resident Minister, Southern Province

Resident Minister, Eastern Province

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- 'Ihe Hon. Bang ali Mansaray

- The Hon. G. Gobio Lamin

- The Hon. F. S. Anthony

DEPUTY MINISTERS

Ministry of Finance

Ministry of Works

Ministry of Interior

Ministry of Education

Ministry of Transport & Communications

Ministry of Health

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- The Hon. -D. Kelfala

- The Hon. A. K. Koroma

- The Hon. A. G. Lappia

- The Hon. A. B. M. Kamara

- The Hon. Formeh Kamara

- 'Ihe Hon. 1. P. Allen

PRESIDENT S~

Born: August 25, ~ Education: Albert Academy in Freetown and Ruskin College,~ England

Mr. Stevens is a shrewd former policeman with the flattened features of a prizefighter and the• toughness as well. He has endured the Sierra Leone political cauldron for years and has emerged as one of the most cunni~ ma · a · · fa· s. At first glanc6"he · s the · of a sleep*; almost ineEt leader. In reality, he is said to be extre el clever, Ofte _JJJess and ve alert. (The word in Freetown is that if he removes ..J his glasses when talking ~ you, then you have succeeded in winning his total attention.)

Early in 1970, after some of his top ministers -- including the then Minister of Finance Forna (now Minister of Agriculture) and army officers -­had broken away to form a new party, Stevens invited the renegades to a lavish dinner party in the Cape Sierra Hotel, on the pretense of attempting to work out a political compromise. Just as dinner finished, police and army officers loyal to the President moved in and arrested all the guests. In November, 1972 six officials of the opposition Sierra Leone Peoples' Party (SLPP) were arrested and charged with murder after an SLPP Land Rover allegedly ran into and killed a worker for the ruling All Peoples' Congress Party during a by­election. According to reports in Freetown, SLPP leaders were not near the scene of the accident.

These incidents, while exemplifying the President's toughness, should not be interpreted to mean that Sierra Leone is led by a fanatical autocrat. ~teyens has also demonstrated a fine cgpgjljatary §t~, which perhaps more than his toughness, is largely responsible for his ascendency to power. For one thing, he is a member of the minority tribe, and the Ljmha have frequently served as mediators between Sierra Leone's two largest -- and often hostile tribes, the Mendes and Temnes. More than this, however, Stevens learned mediation through long experience. As the Secreta General of th Mi Union at the Marampa iron mines in the 1940s, and as ~pjBter for Mines and Labor, he had to rely on bargaining and conciliation with opponents. When ~e was nominated member of the Protectorate Assembly from 1946 onward, he had taken a strong stand in demanding more benefits for Sierra Leone from its mining agreements, but he refused to be party to the more demagogic and wide ranging attacks on all aspects of colonial policy which had Characterized Albert Margai. He continued to take a moderate stand as deputy leader of the old People National Party. Although he is a capable and witty O·--­described by one scholar (Martin Kilson of Harva as comparing favorably with Nkrumah or Toure -- his platform style is more that of a teacher than a firebrand.

Siaka Stevens was born in 1905 at Moyamba in the southern Province of Sierra Leone. He was educated at Albert Academy, Freetown. He was a police officer from 1923-30, then became a ra· a and later station-master. In 1943 he began his involvement in trade union activities and

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politics. In 1947 he went to Oxford on a scholarship to study industri~l relations at Ruskin Coll~e. Subsequently he studied trade un1o ism with t British Trade Unions Congress and developed an appreciation for the

tlie abour Party.

Mr. Stevens was a member of the United Front Delegation to the pre­independence ·constitutional talks m London in 1 960 . He walked out of those talks and refused to sign the constitutional instruments because he did not agree with the defense arrangements between Sierra Leone and the U. K.. He broke away from the United Front to form the "Elections Before Independence" MOvement that later became the All People's Congress party. In November 1964 the Party won the majority of seats in the Freetown city council elections and Stevens was ~ected mayor of Freet~, an office he held for more than a year . The APC won the 1967 general elections and Stevens was sworn in as prime minister . The ar~ intervened, however, took over the Government and forced Stevens into exile . After 13 months, soldiers loyal to Stevens restored civilian rule and in April 1 968, Mr. Stevens was sworn in as prime minister .

Since then, the political situ swun from near evens survived two assassination attempts . In April 1971, he and his party declared full republican status for Sierra Leone and on April 21 of that year, Mr. Stevens was sworn in as the new republic's first executive president . He has a wife -- Rebecca -- and children .

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On Mond~, ~ 19, 1969 at 6 p.m., Mr. Steyeas, accompanied by two of his ministers, visited ou in our office. He discussed recent political and economic developments in Sierra eone . He also mentioned a number of ro ·ects that he was anxious for the Bank Group to cons1der: ~s,

education, ~e, cocga, o~p~and abattoirs . The Bank Grgup subsequently · road ducation and a ft · ct . The African Develop-

ment Bank has an abattoir project under consideration . The rime minister also t the Government would phase out the obsolete and e

THE HONOURABLE S I. KOROMA - VICE PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER OF SIERRA LEONE

The the Republic of Sierra Leone, t Port Loko, in the Northern Province of Sierra ~----

Educated at the Government Model School, Freetown, and Bo Government School, Mr. Koroma joined the Co-operative Department in 1951 after completing his secondary school education.

Mr. Koroma served the Department until 1958 when he studied at the Co-operative College in Ibadon, Nigeria. He resigned from Government service the same year to start business on his own.

He later launched the initiative for a Sierra Leone Motor Owners' Transport Union and became the Union's first Secretary General.

Mr. Koroma started to take an active part in politics after leaving Government service, and in 1962 contested the General Elections, winning a seat in Parliament as Member for the Freetown Central Ward One Constituency. He also became a City Councillor of the Freetown Municipality, and acted as Mayor of Freetown in 1964.

Mr. Koroma was re-elected to Parliament in the 1967 General Elections for the same constituency, although a military coup and counter coup which followed, suspended constitutional political activity in the country for over a year.

When Sierra Leone returned to Constitutional Government in April 1968, Mr. Koroma was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Siaka Stevens. In a major Cabinet reshuffle a year later, he became Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Mr. Koroma was appointed Vice President and Prime Minister in April 1971 when Sierra Leone became a Sovereign Republic.

Widely travelled, he has visited the USSR, the Republic of China, the Republic of Guinea, Ethiopia and many other European and African capitals.

Married with a family, Mr. Koroma's hobbies are reading, football and athletics.

C.A.

Christian Alusine Kamara-Taylor was born in Freetown in the year 1917.

He had his education at the Amadrassa Amaria School, the City Mission Shcool, the Samaria Amalgamated School, the Government Model School and the Methodist Boy's High School, all in Freetown.

Mr. Kamara-Taylor then proceeded to London where he entered the School of Accountancy and later qualified as a Secretary.

Back home, he joined the Sierra Leone Development Company at the Marampa Mines in 1937 first as a clerk, then as a Station Master and later as a shorthand Typist in the Company's Main Office.

Mr. Kamara-Taylor had to answer to the call of Military service and in 1940 he enlisted in the first Battalion of the Sierra Leone Regiment in Port Loko. He rose to the rank of Sergeant in the Quartermaster's Office. He also served in the Intelligence Section, the Orderly Room and Company Offices before he left in 1941 for India and Burma.

When he returned home in 1945 Mr. Kamara-Taylor entered the Civil Service and worked in the Labour Department for three years. In 1947 he left the Civil Service and joined Messrs. United Africa Company Limited as a Shorthand Typist. He was promoted Secretary to the then General Manager and was further promoted Manager/Public Relations Officer.

Mr. Kamara-Taylor resigned from Messrs. United Africa Company Limited in 1957 and took up active politics. In that same year, he won a seat to the Kambia District Council as an Independent Candidate. At the 1962 General Elections Mr. Kamara-Taylor won a seat to the Sierra Leone House of Representatives under the All Peoples' Congress banner to represent the Kambia East Constituency. He was re-elected for the same constituency at the 1967 General Elections.

Army intervention that year threw Mr. Kamara-Taylor into political in­activity for a time. When Sierra Leone returned to Civilian Rule in 1968, Mr. Kamara-Taylor was appointed Minister of Lands, Mines and Labour.

In the Cabinet Reshuffle following the attainment of a Republican Status in 1971, he was appointed Minister of Finance.

He has travelled wide)y and some of the countries he has visited include India, Burma, the USA, the USSR, South Africa, France, Switzerland, Germany, the Gambia, Liberia, Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria.

He is the proud holder of the Burma Star and Defence Medal. In November 1971, Mr. Kamara-Taylor was created "Grand Officer" in the National Order of the ·:- · Republic of Guinea by President Ahmed Sekou Toure.

Mr. Kamara-Taylor was first treasurer and founder of the Sierra Leone Ex­Servicemens' Association, President of the G.D.R.-Sierra Leone Friendship Society and Secretary-General of the All Peoples' Congress (APC).

His hobbies are fishing and lawn tennis. He is married with children.

A. G.

Born at Penlap near Makeni on the · 11th of April, 1932, Mr. Sembu Forna started his education at the Binkolo Boys School in 1939. In 1942 he attended the Rogbane Day School until 1944 when he entered the Koyeima Government School. After two years at Koyeima, Sembu Forna was admitted at the Bo Government School from 1947 to 1951.

Mr. Forna studied at Fourah B~ Coll~e, University of Sierra Leone from 1952 to 1954. He subsequently had a~SCO fellowship in the field of Fundamental Education from 1956 to 1957 and thereafter proceeded to England to study diamond valuation.

Mr. Forna worked in the Civil Service for a brief spell before joining the G~vermment Diamond Office as a value;. He resigned his appoint­ment to contest the 1967 General Elections which he won under the All Peoples' Congress Party ticket.

He was appointed Minister of Transport and Communications in May 1969 and in a minor Cabinet reshuffle following the resignation of two Cabinet Ministers in September the following year he was shifted to the Portfolio of Finance.

In May 1971, a month after Sierra Leone became a Republic, the President reshuffled his Cabinet and Mr. Forna was assigned the Portfolio of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

He is married and has as his hobbies football, table tennis, farming, boating and game hunting.

.. S ~ . W ~ . GANDI...;.CAPIO; . MINISTER . OF . DEVELOPMENT

Sahr · Washintoncave Gandi~Capio was bron in Kayima, Sando Chiefdom, Keno District on the · 8th of November ·, 1931.

He w.as eeducated at the Kayima and Jaima E.U.B. School, the Jimmi Bago Secondary School and the then Njala Training College.

In 1954 and 1955, he was a school teacher; he is a Chiefdom Committee member and was also a member of the then Keno District Council. In 1962, he was elected to Parliament and he retained his seat in the · 1967 meneral Elections as member of Parliament for Keno North constituency.

He was appointed Minister of the Interior in April, 1968. In the April 1969 Cabinet reshuffle, Mr. Capio was appointed Minister of Social Welfare.

In the first major Cabinet reshuffle after Sierra Leone became a Republic, Mr. Capio was appointed Minister of Lands and Mines, in May 1971. Seven months later in another Cabinet reshuffle in November 1971, he xas allocated the portfolio of Development.

D.F. SHEARS, MINISTER OF WORKS

Born in Freetown on the 23rd of January, 1931, Dalton Frederick Shears was educated at the Prince of Wales School and the Balham and Tooting College of Commerce in London.

A professionally qualified accountant, he also holds a diploma in statistics and is a Fellow of the Royal Economic Society, London.

After leaving college, Dalton Shears practised with a London firm of Accountants (W. Skelker and Co.) until he returned home early in 1962 to contest the general elections in May of the same year. Since then he has been a Member of Parliament representing York District. He was appointed Minister in April 1968.

In the April 1969 Cabinet reshuffle, Mr. Shears was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry and a year later in another reshuffle he was appointed Minister of Works.

Married, his hobbies are swimming and hunting.

Meeting, Mr. Strasser-King is a well -meaning. bpt rather ineffectivp, head of the Civil Service Staff at the Ministr.y of Finance. A cause for this difficulty may stem from the previous strong affiliation between the chief civil servants and the regime of Milton Margai which led many of them to oppose Mr. Stevens' party when he was in the opposition. It is unclear, however, what role Mr. Strasser-King had in this political setting.

inancial Secretary,

Also a frequent visitor to the Bank, Mr. Pierce is a dynamic and -and-coming man in the civil service. Appears to have better-rapport

with the nance 1nister than 1s oss, Mr. Strasser-King. Mr. Pierce is our most efficient contact point in the Government and as a result tends to be overused --by us and by others. He is scheduled to attend a 6-month course at IMF's Institute later this year. He is most likely to have done the major staff work for Mr. McNamara's visit.

Principal Secretary, Ministry of Develo t

Also a frequent visitor to Washington, Mr. Nylander is a very able and shrewd civil servant with a good grasp of development economics. His main problems are that he works for a Minister without much clout in the Government (Minister of Development), and, that he lets his ambitions and drive cause him to be very possessive (and sensitive) about staff functions of which he is in charge (or, of which he thinks he ought to be in charge). Officially he is the principal contact point between aid organizations and the Government. This is less of a problem for us, than it is, for example, for UNDP. The economic planning team__,....finanoed b~IIMP75 is PS~&PtiRs.:a Mr ~yJand:r

c decis1o mak1n ach1nery 1n

·on of Bank/IDA financed hi h ro ect. Wrote the speech which his Minister delivere a e African transport confer-ence in Rabat last spring, on which occasion the Bank was lambasted for delays in the Bo-Kenema road construction; he then called for better Bank procedures for project processing. However, after this problem was solved last summer he has been ver.y cooperative With Ba~ staff. Willing to listen to sound advice from Ba~ We now have a very good relationship with him and his Ministry. He lately entertained Bank missions at his home. His wife is a British-educated botanist who teaches at the Fourah Bay University.

·,:.;-: ..

NAME:

DATE OF BIRTH:

EDUCATION:

1940-42

1942-45

EXPERIENCE:

1948

1950

1950-52

1952

1953-60

1960

1961

UNDP RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE

CURRICULUM VITAE

25 September 1923

NATIONALITY: ~~ MARITAL STATUS: Married

(4 children)

LANGUAGES:

St . Joseph ' s College, Colombo, Ceylon Intermediate in Arts - London University

Tamil English Sinhalese French

University of Ceylon, B. A. (history, economics, philosophy)

Joined Ceylon Civil Service as Assistant Controller, Department of Exchange Control, Colombo, Ceylon.

Assistant Director of Land Development, Department of Land Development

Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Food and Cooperative Undertakings; with special detail to Burma and Thailand with the Ceylon Government Rice Mission

Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Defence and External Affairs

Assistant Secretary and ·Chief of Protocol, Ministry of ·Defence and External Affairs

Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Ceylon to the United Nations, New York

Charge d'Affaires, Permanent Mission of Ceylon to the United Nations; Ceylon Representative to the Ninth Session of the Commission on International Commodity Trade

1962-65

1965-68

1968 -

COMMENT:

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Deputy Regional Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, Bangkok, Thailand

Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Liberia

Resident Representative of the UNDP in Sierra Leone

"ticism of among others at international meetings of UNDP Res~dent

Representatives. Late~ we have not had any direct attacks from him -- perhaps part~ because we have made a special effort at having our missions and staff liaise with him in Freetown. It is rumored that Mr. Edward may be leaving his job soon.

He cabled an invitation to the Bank in mid-December asking for permission to host a dinner, luncheon or reception for Mr. and Mrs. McNamara in Freetown. We cabled him (after clearance from Mr. Ljungh) that regretfully the tight schedule did not allow Mr . MCNamara to accept an invitation.

Sierra Leone

Policy Issues

In your discussions with Government officials it would be most helpful if you could emphasize four policy issues which we believe have substantial importance for Sierra Leone's development and which will undoubtedly affect Bank Group relations with the countr,y. Economic performance has not been good in the past few years, about which the Bank has consistently cautioned the Government and obtained assurances tied to past loans. When the Government breached the $2 million lL~t of short and medium term credits to which it had agreed, the Bank delayed processing of ' the integr,ated agricultural development project. New policy understandings were obtained at the 1971 Annual Heeting whose status is described in the updating economic brief (Tab F (ii). We should forcefully convey to the top levels in the government that while we fully appreciate the great political/social/economic pressures that beset Sierra Leone and while we stand ready to assist wherever possible to further development (even to the extent of considering an innovative project that could strike at one of the gover~~ent 1 s main bottlenecks --project preparation) we need more evidence of positive effort by goveritment to alleviate the most critical economic probie~s.

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- Overall Economic/Financial Management: The need for improvement here cannot be overstressed. vmile there has been some progress on extra-budgetary expenditures, more severe budgeta~; restraints or larger tax efforts a~e required. Long-terni"development planning or progrannning is urgenly needed.

The . UNDP planning teB.J.Il seems to be isolated within the Hinistry of Develop­ment. Since the President and the Cabinet lfinisters do not appear to trust fully the principal civil sei'\rants·, there is a "need for the President to have better access to professional economic advice. Tnese matters should be raised with President'" Stevens, F'inance Mimster Kamara-Taylor, Vice­Presid~nt. Koro!n~ 2-!!d the Gc~.rC::'!"lOr of thG Bc.r-Jp of Sicrl"'a. Le;one, Hr. 3am Bangura.

- SuppliGrs 1 Credits: Contraction of excessive amounts of suppliers' credits has been an almost perpetual problem w lC- Jeopa ·lzes 1nanc1al stability. Tfle 1971 Economic Policy Understands bet1-1en the Bank and the Governor addressed itself specifically to this problem. It is still necessary to drive ·home the serious implications of this problem to the President., the Vice-President, the Finance Hinister, and the Minister of Public ·Horks. (The GoYernor of the Central Bank understands the problem thoroughly). These four men kno~.; next to nothing about sound economic/financial policy, but they happen to be the most powerful men in the country and must be educated. The matter is discussed in more detail in Tab F(ii).

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- Sierra Leone Electricity Corporation: ----The. Bank, through its first power loan, was instrumental in establishing this corporation. Recently, it has encountered very serious mana erial and financial difficulties ... A supplemental loan has been requested from ese issues are dis- . cussed more fully under Bank Operations (Tab G). Again the President, Vice­President, Finance Minister and Minister of Works should be firmly told that the deterioration at the Electricity Corporation has gone far enough.

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- Project Preparation: To help avoid the impression that the Ba~ is merely lecturing or nagging the gover~~ent about difficult problems, the ~oint should be made _ that we stand ready to help government, provided it is willing to do its share and take some hard decisions. The proposed lending operation for project preparation purposes (discussed under Tab G) might be raised in the eontext of the above three problems and should be discussed with the President, the Vice-President, the Finance Minister, }linister of Works, Agriculture and Development.

- General Remarks: A persistent complaint by government officials is that the Bank Group is too slow in processing projects and that, given the pressures for development, the temptation to take on suppliers' credits -­in the hope of acceleration development, or at least, being able to proclaim some forward movement -- is very great indeed. This complaint is partly justified in that the Bank has been exceptionally slow for instance under the highHay project where the construction of the Bo-Kenema Road was delayed

, for two years largely because -of problems associated with the fact t!1at international competitive bidding "resulted in 50 percent higher costs than estimated by the appraisal mission. On the other hand, the point should be made, ho\-J"ever, that there is also good reason for the Ban.k 's deliberations to insure Fo?Tid projects. Our procedures should be speeded up as a result of the recent _reorganization. .

The government officials may raise the Bank's insistence on their closing of the Sierra Leone F~ilway (which was a condition of the First Higmray Project) well in advance of the construction of the ne1-1 roads, particularly because of the aforementioned delay. If they do, you may note that the Bank treated the railway closure as a general transport policy issue. This was based on the 1967 Transport Survey and the already

' . bad state o'f locomotive power and rolling stock, as well as the expected further rapid deterioration. The closure was not linked to the date of completion of Bo-Kenema. At that time, the railway carried an insignificant. ~~ou.'"l:t of freight ~nd ilO paccengers. -Tra:u.3fe:r of that traffic ~·as or.J.:r a minor factor in the justification of a nelv road. So, the question Has r1ot one of building roads to replace the railway. It was instead one of building ne1v roads to carry traffic at a lov-;er cost than that afforded by the ey.isting roads. As to the timing of the closure, it was estimated that dismantling the railway before the new roads were completed would save Sierra Leone about $4.8 million.

Western Africa Region Division lB December 27, 1972

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1972 Populatio 1969/70 Per Ca ita

·Current Populat ··

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·-COuNTRY.: PROGRAM NOTE.

SIERRA LEONE

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· C011!4'IDENTIAL

.; . ,_ : ·September ·28, 1972 ·

.. · · .. : ~ .· PEcLissiFmn · · ·:_ ·. ··APR o:_5. 2013 .. .. · ..

WB:G ARCHIVES

·IBRD/IDA Lending Pr~gr~ ($ million)

FY196!1-68 FY1262-73 FY1974-78

·IBRD 3.8 . . . f.6 6.0 . IDA --. 12~ .8 .. 23.0 -TOTAL 3.8 20.4 . 29.0

Growth ~te: 2.4 percent ·p.a. - ·-Current Exchange Ratrj

Le 1 .00 = US$1 .21 -US$1~00 = Le 0.83

Op-erations Program 39.0

Annual Average Pe~ Capita ($)

BANK/IDA . . 0.28. IDA

.INTRODUCTION

1 .57 · ·0.98

• 4 •

2.23 ·1.77

1. Since the last review of the Country Progra..""l Note · on November 19, . 1971, Sierra Leone's internal political .situation has become more stable and

the Government has made some conunendable efforts to iinprove internaJ. and · external financial management. . However, uncertainty still clouds the picture. With elections scheduled later this year, political developments could become more un~ettled and could create pressure for increased government expenditures and for contracting new suppliers' credits. The immediate outlook, therefore, is shadowed wi. th risk • '

2. The magnitude or . the proposed operations program is slightly larger than that approved in 1971. Several new possible prujects have emerged in . the · rlculture sector. As long as the Governmen-v continue~ e positive efforts, e up should be prepared to move ah~~~ with a slight increase in the lending · program extended on about the same blend as that approved last year.

!/ 'lhe Leone has been floating with the British pound since June 27, 1972. This is the most recent market rate of exchange used by the Bank of Sierra Leone.

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Recent POlitical Developments

3. The political atmosphere in Sierra Leone ~ seems more relaxed than it was at the time of the· last CPN. President Siaka Stevens, having survived .the breakaway political movement OI· a e 19 0 and the attempted military coup in Narch 1 971 , has moved to stren then his osition and to enlarge his power base. This is a difi'icult process because of the country's great tribal diversit and social tensions •. · Elections are schedu1ed late in 1 972 and early 197 3. ~ e . there is no real opposition party, the

. election process traditionally has been marked by considerable fer.ment and sometimes civil strife. Government is obviously trying to avoid a repetition of the past and, in recent weeks, it has stepped up .efforts. to bring potentially hostile factions into line. Amnesty has been extend~d to more political detainees. Troops, brought in from Guinea during the attempted coup, have become much less visible, and are now strictly confined to· the president's office.

4. Externally, the · Goverrunent continues i .ts policy· .of non-al~runen t, although this has now been accompanied by a defense pact with Guinea, the establishment of relations with th~ People's Republic of China and friendly overtures towards the. Soviet Union and Cuba. Despite these diplomatic developments, there is no evidence that Sierra Leone may be shifting to the lert ideologically. Pragmatism is the central motivating force behind the country's .foreign policy. It is likely to remain so.

Recent Economic and Financial Developments

5. The d·eterioration in the economic and financial position which started around ·the middle of 1 970 was substantially hal ted early this year and, in fact, some improvement has been achieved since then. The deterioration had originally arisen from a de~J.·ession in the wrld diamond market (diamonds · constitute 65-70% of Sierra Leone's exports), and imprudent fiscal and debt management policies, in addition to political instability. A recovery in

_the diamond market, together with progress in implementation o1· economic a_r:1d · financial policy measures agreed upon with the Government during the 1971 Bank/FUnd Annual Heetings, have contributed to_ the recent improvement. None­theless, the situation remains uncertain. Wi.th upcoming . elections, the Government is under strong pressure to ~mbark on increased spending and to contract new suppliers' credits.

o. In the first four months of 1972, diamonu exports amounted to Le 21 million comparea toLe 14 million in the correspo~ding period of 1971. Busines.s confidence was strength~ed by the announcement last February o!' an agreement with a new foreign company, Sierra Rutile Ltd., a partnership of Armco and Nord., to take over the rutile lease area· which had been abandoned

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··a year · earlier by ··Sherbro 'Hinerals~ ~ c·o'mpariy which had 'i'ittle ·exp.erience . ·. in mining exploration>. 'Ruti e · duction ana . . .

reswne before the · end · or· th,is ·year. Agricultural-. eiports, ·at Le 7.5 miiiion in the first quarter·of 1972, . were · 35% ·above · their level during · the corre·sponding period o·f _1971 • Almost all the increase .was in the . expor.t _. · of coffee, followl.ng the.· increase in Sierra Leone's quota last October. Production o.r· rice, the staple food, is eXpected to reach a record level of 295,000 tons in 1971./72, · compared to 270,000 tons in the previous year.

7. '!he polic . understandin s reached dur' : the last. Annual Meetin S ·

concerned. imp roveinent ··of economic ·policy coordination within the Govern."ilen t~ · 1 L'11i ta tior..s or~ short 2.Y':d ~e : · u.rn term external bo·rrowing, . maintaining a:1 adec!ua:.e ~ eve2. oi .t"orsign exd-..e.~.?;e reserves, mobilizati.on of gove:r"Th'Tlent

, .

savings, and L'llpro"'ving d~velop:::.:;nt planning • . There have been these developments:

a. Eco:1orr..ic P:Jlicv Coordination • . An .Economic Advisory Committee · {EAC} was established in November 1971 to help coormnat.e

economic decision-making. The Committee had opportunity to advise the Government on the fir;laricial ' situation early t his year 2 .... 11d on ".-i::iys to clear government 'indebtedness · to local supplisrs . But, the Committee has no·t yet become an inte.gral part of the governmenT, economic decision-making machinery. Economic ·policy issues and ·proposals for new eXternal borrovr.Lng are not put to the Committee. on a sys­tematic basis. _-.Thus, increased goverrunent 1dllingness to use the COmmittee is needea if it is to becorne . an effective advisory institution.- To hel~J further in , j_mprpv.i.ng economi\,; management we are considering helping .the ;flovernment to recruit a senior exoatriate ·economic advi:sor to the President. T'ne Government has in the past considere:i {frecru.i ting such . an advisor but no further development has -t;,alcen place. ~ve · ·

n intend to discuss this question with the Goverrunent deJe7ation at the Annual Heetin8.

b. Limi ta:tion of :Sxternal Borrowing. Given the high debt service burden on the budget, the Govermnent agre·ed in the policy understandings to observe a freeze on contractinG and guaranteeing external debts of 12-year maturity or less until April 1·, 1972, and then to · set . a ceiling on such debts for a · definite period. This ceiling, produced in consUltation with the Bank, was subsequently se.t at .$3.0

· million for April 1, 1972 - June 30, .1973. Contrary to earlier assertions by Government; it was discovered during a recent mission to Sierra Leone that a snall supplier credit of . $230,490, payable over a 6-year period, was contracted .

· on March 18, 1 972 for the purchase . of a helicopter for the President. By the end of last August 1972, the US$ 3.0 million . debt ceiling had been reached, with the.-- contraction of two .

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credits, one for · an extension oi" . an ongoing water· supply scheme and the other for the proviston o£ a 250 kw radio· transmitter. Contrary to our agre~ents with the Government, none· of these credits .was submitted to the· Economic Advisor,y Committee for reviel<J. While the credit _fo.r the water stipply · scheme could be justified on development grounds, the radio· transmitter credit is of questionable Erit, since the . transrni tter is unusually large. We int.end to emphasize to. the Goverrunent d~legation at the .'Annual Meeting t hat no addi­tional suppliers 1 credits of. 12-year maturit y or l ess st".au2.d be contracted or guaranteed before June 30, 1973 . . It i: feared that the Goverr~ent may not be able to observe s~ch restraint·, in view of the political pressure of the scheduled elections. We shall watch this situation closely.

Foreign Exchange Reserves. The level ot -. foreign ···exch~"'l.ge reserves of the Bank of Sierra Leone at the end of 1-fa.rch 1972 were Le 35.6 million ($46.4 million), equivalent to · more than four months 1 imports. 'nlis ~ well above the level of three months 1 imports equivalent agreed upon in the policy understandings during the last Annual Meeting. The overall balance of payment s posit ion in the past .year remained essentially sound. In fact, tbe trade balance · improved in 1971 due t o the recovecy in diamond exports and the low l evel of imports. Provisional estimates sh~ a trade surplus of Le 5.9 million in the .first. four mont.l-}s of 1972, compared.to a deficit of Le l.J mill:lon during the corresp?nding period of the previous year.

d. l·iobilization of. Public Savings. Since the last review sone efforts have been made to arrest the deterioration in the fiscal situation and to mobilize public savings, but the budgetary situation remains tight. Extra-budeetary current exnendi tures 1mich were excessive in 1970/71 a:1d

. in the firet half of 1971 /72 have subsided in the ·second half of the past fiscal year. Budgetary controls have been tightened. The Goverrunent is nol-r considering the esta­bli::hment of a Central Procurement Office to scrutinize local and foreign purchase orders by government agE!ncie$ before they are executed. · On the revenue side; a goverrunent-· · appointed ~~mmi ttee last l'Iarch completed. a revie~-v of the 1971 ll•IF tax report on ··sierra Leone·; The conunittee recommended that improvement of the administration and collection of taxes and duties be given priority over restructuring the tax system. (The ratio of Government revenues to GDP increased from 14.7% in 1963/64 to 16.3% i~ 1969/70, but i~direct taxes,mostly tmPort duties, continue to provide about 60% of total revenue.) In

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_his budget speech last July, the Minister oi' finance · stated the Government's intention to imPlanent some of the Committee's recommendations in the present fiscal · year. -In addition to stricter expenditure. controls, he announced the government plan to introduce a bill

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in parliament · this yea~ to re-enact, in an improved form, provisions relating to collection, recovery and enforcement of .income ·taxes, including penalties for non~payment. The-Ninister also emphasized goverrunent 'inten~on to accelerate the eff orts to collect tax arrears and impro •le the enforcement of custom duty collection.

The 1972/7 3 budget projects a · surplus on current account of Le ·.o million, cor1?ared an es timated deficit of about Le 1.6 I:til~i'Jn :_n the :;.;.·evious year . 'Ihis is made · on t he e:xpecta.-r::-io:- o: ~o r:.TJinued recovery in the diamond marke·l, , raising certain taxeG and fees (yielding Le 1 .6 million) and containing current expenditure at about last year 1 s level. . This may be dii'1'icult to achieve given the pressure of · the upcoming elections·. Development expenditure is projected to _gro.w by· 30% in 1972/73 to Le 14.2 million,­the most notabl~ increase being in agricultural development from Le 1.1 million in 1971/72 toLe 2.5 million. The proj ec t . .:;d Le 2 .0 million budgetary surplus, if it materializes,, together '"rith Le 0. 8 million contribution from . public cor­porations, would finance about 20% of the budgetary development expenditures in 197 2/7 3. ·

Development Planning. Pro ress o Jeveloumen t lanni has be~n slow. No detailed development policy guidelines with clear objectives, strategy and priorities have yet been formulated. The UNDP/SF project for planning ·· assistance, which began in July 1 970, has been moving slowly, partly due to insufficient government support, but mostly due to dif~iculties in finding competent leadership and recruitine experts for the project . The project i~ designed to assist in estab~ishing an institutional framework for planning and in fonaulating development programs . and projects. A neH· able manager took charg~ of the · project last Aueust ~~d . the plan of operation is being revised -vri:t:.h a View to reducing the required nu."Tlber of experts. In his budget speech the llinister of ~'inance stated that the Goverruncnt intends to

. set up a National Pl~ining Council and other appropriate ) lanning institutions in the current fiscal year.

Development Strate~J . and Constraints

7. Sierra Leone has a dual economy with an enclave a~ort-oriented minine sector dominated by diamonds, and a large nnder-a.eveloped agricultural

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sector which sustairis 75~80% of .. the population· . . GNP pe.X. capit-a for the · -·. country's 2.5 million . i)opulaticin is estimated at. about $ 190 (1969/70),

· b~t income distribution is .very uneven. During .. the las-t decade, GDP grew at an average annual rate of. abou~ 4% in real terms~ ·An ofticial develo~men~ strategy has not yet been 'formulated. However, econoriic policy statements by the Government. have emphasized the priority of §.gric:1il.ture, education and road transport.. In ada.ition, the Government h~s decided t<;> play a . more ac J.Ve ro e 1.n 8 development 01" ln.ineral resources, and has adopted a policy of acquiring majority ownership -in the !~reign-owned mining comp~es.·

8. · · . ·'!he strategy . Jo~. agricultural develoPment a.ims at:. a) ··achieving self-sufficiency in ·rice (Which at present satisfies about 95% of local consumption an other ood crops and products; b) increasing . roduction of tree crops; c) improving institutional as ects particularly · extension . -- .

e ces and credit and marketing _facilities; and d) developing the agri- · cultural pptential of the north. A long · dry season in the north, compared . with more favorable cl:ir::atic conditions and considerable mineral resources ­in the .aast and south, have helped create u..11even development, which is

·politically and .socially unpalatable. The north , as ·;;ell· as certain central parts of the country, have potential for livestock production and the Government is anxious to develop this. Development of livestock production, however, cannot be expected to occur without proper transport fac and slaughter houses.. ·

9. The need for developing education derives basically from the fact that ·the population ·is still largely illiterate; the countr,y's ·education system· is not oriented towards its development objectives •. . ·l'lie present system of secondary education prepares the majority of high SC'!bool graduates for· "white­collar" jobs, while the demand grows for persons wi t.lt t raining for non~ _ clerical jobs in industry and agriculture.

10. In transportation a 1 0-year road program was. prepared in 1970 following a. ·land -c,ransport survey financed by UNDP, with IBRD the executing agency. This program included improving highway maintenance, dismantlirg the outdated and-ine~ficient· railway, and improving the main roads from Freetown into the rest of . the country. Construction. of. several ol' . the roads ·in this program

· has already started. ·

11 •· The mining sector has few linkages with the rest of the economy _ and. its development so far has contributed little to the general development of' the economy. The Government policy to acqui~ . )Tlajority ownership in the foreign-owned mining companies · is designed to · increase this contribution mainly through an at tem t to · t deve · t e ent in the 1·e·st of the econom:y, . increasing the pace at which Sierra Leoneans- are be ng trained for managerial and technical positions, -and obtaining a larger share ir1 the mining p_rofi ts for financing developm~nt .• · 'lhe transfer of ownership has so far been orderly. As mentioned in the last CPN1 a settlement agreement was reached with the largest of the four mining companies, SLST, in

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1970 ·and there was no dis:r;-u ion in p~duction or investment. Ne otiations are currently Under way wit h Delco . the iron ore com The overnment·. oes no ~n s part owner in the relatively smaller bailxi.te

ana rutile companies at the present time. · ·

12. The mai n . constr&· -""t s on develoDment ha"'".re be~n .the al;l§encs -~f . development nl~B±J:lg , poe::· se8 o:.::al knc-..;.:.c:u?e and shortage of idr~nti1'ied ~ects, insufi icieJ._t s--.p-;;ly cl sY-il2-s8. :-:12.:'"~;JO \;·~r a~d i.mt e<i public savings. Recent efforts to revive the UND?/SF planning project should be helpful in setting up a more systematic planning effort. The poor sectoral k~owledge and shortage of iuentified and prepared projects remain a basic obstacle. Among the three priority sectors, agriculture,. education and road _transport, only the latter has been surveyed adequately. However, a 6-man agricultural

· technical assistance team from the UK is currently helping the Govermnent in identifying and preparing agriculture projects. Preliminary investigations indicate that there is a forestry potential which can be exploited for the domestic market, but it is doubtf ul whether there is a rorestry pote~tial for export. A forest resources feasibility study concerning the utilizat ion · of the Tama Tonkolili and Kangari Hills forest reserves was conducted over the past four years by an FAO expert, and his report is now. being completed · for submission to the Government. In fisheries, there is. a potential for expanding the annual fi .sh catch, at least to substitute for imports which satisfy about 1/3 of local consumpti on . 1he pri."Tla.cy need is to improve ·fishing

· techniques ·. and marketing and s to r age facilities. A tnmP/FAO project for assessing the coastal pelagic fish resources Has terminated. prematurely early this year due to technical and personnel pr~blems. A pro ject i s now being proposed for lTIIDP financing. This woUld be limitt;d to exploring the possiblli"ties for improving · fishing techniques and establishing effect ive marketing chann.els. · This project might become . operative early in 1973. ·. ..

13. UNESCO has proposed an education sector survey for FY197 3. In an effort to ease ·labor force bottlenecks, a UriDP/ILO~sponsored man}~wer survey is .currently being conducted to identify the existing s tock of skills ~~d to prepare pJ.'Ojections for future needs of skilled man~wer. Thi_s, together with a proposed edilcation suL·vey, would f orm the basis f or appropriate education and training programs. In ,...m:Lnir.Je a recent Bank mission identified the s t a t e o: sectoral knowledge and stressed the need for exte~siye :J rospecting and manoincr work over the next ten years. . Part or t ~s nt;e e . wo ~ ready being carried out av presen ~n e north, with UK assistance. m.rn ~~ is considering a project for surveying anu mapping areas in the southern and central. parts of the· country. Anpther ·UNDP-f~nanced·· study of 3ierra Leone's power resources a.L'1d needs for the next 15 years_ was~completed at the end of last year and the report is now being ·finali zed. ~~owledge of the indus try, water suonly and sewerage, and teleco:rrummications sectors is practically niJ.. 1v8 are l)lannin~ to send a comprehensi ve economic mission next fal l which will look into these sectors in depth. -We also intenu to work with t he Gove~~ent and the planning team in preparing an inventory and short apprais al ot' pre-investment st.udies prepa~.d in the various sectors

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sirice about the ·mid~siXties.

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·14. During the past ·· year, Sierra Leone has taken several steps to initiate a program of economic cooperation with ~ e"' • . -Several meetiilgs were held on both ministerial and technical leve s, aria. agreement. was. reached to promote cooperation in the ·areas of trade and industry, transport and communication, . and . education and tra.:.ning. .il. $-man ·mission from ID.ICTAD, UNIOO and FAO visited both countries last .April/Hay to assess the sco)e oi' cooperation between . the, two countries. We propose_· t6 examine 1-ihat assistance we may be able· to contribute to these efforts. .

Prosnects

. 15 •· . Econornic and financial prospec t s i:1 t he next several ~rears are at best moderate. Continuation of th~ r~ c e::-: rs ::ov2 r-J in the a:.. , •. :::.ond :r::J.:."ket. and pursuance of sound fiscal. policies . wou.J..a. en..~c.nce t~1eoe :::-J r~ spects • . ~ may be exoected to row at between 3-4c:1 er armum in the · next fe:w years, but most of this is expected. to originate in the d.iamorid-dominated enclave secto:c. Th~ diamond market · is volatile and could cause substantial nuctua·c.iort in economic growth. An average "annual growth of 3-4% pP,r annum is indeed inadequate, particularly since population is now expected to inc.rease at a ·rate of 2.4% per .annum~ This emphasizes the i..171portance o:f efforts to improve development planning, project .identification and ·mobilization of domestic savings·. ·

16. AssurniTI5 continued recoverJ in the diamond ~~rket, exports are projected to grovr at about 4% per a'U1tun in the next . few·· years . compared ·to a drop in 19'(0 and no growth in 1971 . EA.--pert prospects i;w'ill be enhanced · ~-ri th the resumption of rutile exports at the end ·or this ye~· and at a· time of

. rising world prices. On the other hand; agricultural . eiports, which contribute about 16% to .total exports, may suffer by depressed world prices for palm kE:rnels. ~-Jhile · exports are projected to grow at :-...bout .4%, ~orts are projected to grow at about~ this would result in a grmtirlb det ici t on the trade account. .

1(. ·E~e budgetasz position is likely to continue beine a major constrain-·ing factor to de velopment. Even l-dth a projec~ed gro~rth rate of a(?out 67~ ·in current revenues and reasonable ~estrair.t in · the growth of current · expenditures, budgetary savings may average about Le 1 ."0 - 2~0 million a yea:r. Hi~h improved project identification anu. preparation, public ·aevelopment expenditure coUld rise to an annual average of about Le 1 9 mil:J,.ion (US$23 million) in the 1972/73-197'1 /78 period. comparea to an average· of about Le 1.3 .0 million · in the past four y6ars. Total public savings ~nay be e~-pected by finance not more than · 10-1~% of this expenditure. Inte1~al borrowing . (treasury bills goverr.JTJ.ent s ·cocks) may finance another 1 o;; and the bal.ance o.t r.·"' -1 rnilli (Le 14-15 million) a year would have to be financea. from external sources. It is projected ~at the World Bank Group }-lould p ... ·ovi-lie an average of about

• -

A • . FOREIGN TiUDE .

· Exports of goods and NFS Imports of goods and NFS Factor Services arid Transfer

Payments · current Account :~lance

• ·: • •• • : : •• . ; • : ; . ~ ~ i. . .... .

. . I • · •· • •.

-::: · . . . - .

,·

r ·t ·.

-.. ..... ·

' . '' '

. ~ .: . ; .:._ ::

.. :. ~ ··.: · .. t..·· • . I . · .

. .. : ·.: .

. .. . · ; I • ' • • ,·, , .' '

', . . • . ' ~ ~ • • I ·, ,

. . _·SIERRA u.;;NE~· ~:U.NcE OF TRADE. AND ,: B~ETARY. PROJECTIONS, i972~i978 · .. . (in .mi.l.llon Le. ) ·

'.~~.· .

EStimate -

. '!21!

99.2 109.0

·-2.'4 -12.2

.. l972

·103~2 114.5 '

.-2.5 ~13.8

. !2ll 107.3

•120.2

-2.6- . -15.5

I·, i· ,:~ ._· .- ~ '• ~ ·. \ ~ .

·proJ ·ect ·io .ns

' 1974 1975 . lW,· . !2ll ~-

· 111.~6 '116.1 120.7 125-5 1)0.5 126.2 1.32.5 1:39.1 146~1 15J.4

-2.7 -2.8 -2.9 -3~0 . -3.1 -17 ·3 . -19~2 . -21-3 ;..23.6 -26 .• 0

. ~ .

. . ;· .. .

....

EstiJMte ~dliet Pro j e c · t ions r : ·. AveraS!

1972 - 1.977

4.0:% 5-~

. ; .J'llllU:l Gro-.. ~t~ iate .

. 19n/72 · ·1972/73 !WL1li 1974/75 . 1975/76 .. 1976/77 1-977/78 1972/73-1977/78 ·. 1973/7!:.-77 ! 7'3 .

. I

CUrrent Revenues Current Expenditures Debt Servicing ·

Elcte~ll/ Internal£/

Investible Surplus (Deficit) ~ve1opnent Expenditure

.:55-7 46.4

. ' 10 --~

:. (7.8) . (3.1) .

-1.6 11.2

58.9 62.4 . 45.3 47.8 11.6 13-9

(9.2j (10.2) (2.4) (3. 7)

2.0 0.7 14,.2 15-3

66.1 . 70-l ·. 74·3 78~8 50.4 5.3-~ 56.1 59·2 14.2 . 15 .. 5 16.6- 17.0 .

(10.3) (10.9) (11:9) (12.2) (3.9) (4.6) (4.7) (4.8)

1.5 . 1.4 1.6 · 2.6 16.5 17.8 . 19 •. 2 20.7

C .• SERVIOJNG OF EXTERNAl, PUBLIC DEBTS .

Public Sector Obli;~ationsll

as .% of export.¥ ··

C~ntra1 Government Obligations

as % of budgetary Revenues

8.5

8.6%

7.8

14.0%

Figures refer to .calendar years 1971-1977.

10.2 11.3

9~9% 10.5%

9.2 10.2

15.6% l 6.J%

11.2 11·.5 · 12~4 .

10.0% 9.9% 10-.J%

10.3 10.9 11.9

15.6% 1:5.5% ' 16~0%

-~ AccO\_Ulting f ·or likely new debt comrnitznents between 1972 and 1978 . ~~~ Assuming new internal borrowing between 1972/73 and 1977/7 8 .

Saving by ·pubJic corporations is· estimated at an l£Verage of Le l. O million a ·year,

. 13.4

. 10.7%

12.2

15.5%

which adds to an average public saving of Le 2.6 million a year. -~ . ~ Investment by public corporations is estimated at an average of Le l. 5 :;..:.L:.::.on a y-ea:r·,

which adds to an average public development expenditure of Le 1.8.8 millicn ($22.7 'million) ayear. ·

.! ··. ~ . ~.- . : ~ · .. ~- . .

I' ' ' :,

. --··· . . : . . ; . : ., . ;. :~ . ·. . . : . ;,: . •. ·, .. ::.._ . ;

.s'

68.4 u .o~ 52.0 5-5% . 14.8

(10.8) (4.0)

41 1.6- . 17.321 B.c~

ll-7

10.2~

10.8

15.8%

.... 9 -

$6 million· a ar, other official donors would provide -about $8-9 million suppliers r credits would finance about $3.0 million. Eft'orts will be

made to interest other donors in joint or parallel financing arrangements for Bank anci IDA projects.

B. EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE

18. Commitments of total capital assistance in the pa.st three years (1969-71) totalled $36.7 million. Of this," about 60% ($21 .5 million) wa~ from ofi'icial sources and the ·remainde;c ($15. 2 million) consisted of suppliers' credits and contractor financing. Official cani tal assistance (an average of about -$7.0 million a year) was almost doubl~ the amoUnt received in 'the preceding three years ( 1966-1968), which was a · period of economic stabirization. . Suppliers r credits and contractor financir:g , mostly contracted in the .pe!·iod June 1970 - August 19 71 , 1-rere mainly for tl:e purchase of buses, terries, tractors, teleco:n:.nur'~..ication.s a..'1d mili t.ar-J ·equipment. , ana continuation -of a water supply scheme.

19. Official ext~rnal canital assistance has pr~ominantly _been for ··. infrastructure, reflecting the shortage of . v~a e proJ ec us m o er sectors.

As e table belo-rr indicates, .:?6% of this assistance was for roads, 12% for power ana 10% for education. In addition, about 22% was for general developmen~ purposes (:lncluding commodity loans). The ·~vorlci Bank Group contributed 45% · . of official external ca;Jital a s ~istance (2L+% IBRD and 21% IDA) in the 1967-7'1

. :~ period, the UK 2~%, Germany 20% and the uS 4%. The People Is PL.8l)Ublic of :.i,."j

China contributed about 7% and became a ne-v; ctonor in 1 911 by extending a.11

interest free conv:ertible foreign exchange loan of $2 .1 million for general -! · purposes. It is expected. to increase its · lend.ing operations i"n the next few years. Except for IBRD loans, all other oi·~ricial lending to Sierra Leone hB.s been on conces-sionary terms. ·

-OFFICL~L 2X'I'E ill~AL CAPITAL ASSIST}J;c:s COMNI 'I!·iEUT S) - 1967-1971

in million US$

·People's Republic

IBRD IDA UK German:£ --· ~ of China TOTAL ..L.. Roads 3.7 J.;; 4.3 6.2 - 17.7 . 56.2 Power 3.9 - 3.9 12.4 Education 3.0 3.0 9.;, General

Development 3.7 1 . 1 2.1 6.9 21 .9 TOTAL ...2:i?.. M 8.0 6.2 1 • 1 2.1 31 .5 1 OJ.O -

• > .. % Distribution 24.1 20.6 25.4 .. 19.7 3.5 .. "/. ~ -;,-

:: 100.0 ~

. . ~

·"

.. .. .. .. 1.0

20. In the past two years, external debt service payments averaged.. . . about $10.5 million, absorbing of e rni1 s 'and about 14% of budgetary revenues. The contraction of a substantial amount of suppliers 1 credits in the past two years postponed a sharp drop in external_ debt service payments, which h~d been expected in ~971 (based on debt outstanding at the end o~ 1969). Instead, external debt service payments are now expected to Eeak in 1972 at $12 million (based on debt outstanding at the end of 1971), ana to average about $10.0 million in the following years. Based · on certain assl.L"Ttptions · of likely ne1-1· capital conuni tments between 1 97 2 and 1977 and. a projected 4% gro-w--th in .export earnings, the debt service · ratio_ is estilnated at about 1 O% i the next five years. If re·current budgetary revennes grow at about 6,.) :?er annmn, externa e t service payments would absorb about 16~6 of budgeta.:r-.r revenuer, _during the same period.

21. Against this background and considering Sierra Leone's poverty and low sa~_ngs potential, it is essential to avoid a substantial increase in the' debt se2. .. vice burden, especially on the budget. This is especially important because Sierra Leone requires a substantial - infl~v-T of external assistance, which therefore ought to ~e .Providea · on 9oncession Given the expected shift in development emphasis to agriculture and. . education -~ sector!3 in which projects . tend to hav~ a . relatively lo-v1 foreign exchange component -­some fii1ancing of local expenditure will be requireu..

. · C. · B~"JK/IDA LENDING PR.CXHW1

22. Given the constraints and opportunities .outlined in the previous sections, the Bank Grou 1 s contribution .-to Si.erra Leone's long-:- range develop­ment can be provideu through a strategy that· emphasizes the following: .

. . . Capital finanqing in the priority sectors of - ~ricultube, transport and education;

Tecru~ical assis t ance, mostly tied to project financin~ and provided either by the Bank Group or by other international/

. bilate.L ... al agencies, to help in: (a) pl.·oj ect identification anci preparation; (b) strengthening the country 1 s. Blannir~.g and administrative capacities; (c) trainl.ng Sierra -Leoneans ih formulating .and imple~enting · a.evel_opment ··programs ana. . projects;

3ome special assistance in the econonuc/financial field to help improve economic management'" an

2J. . In our long-range lending strategy. for Sierra Leone, tec~~ical assistance for project identification and preparation_ is a vi tal component. In a very real sense, the whole ~st of our assistal-tce effort rests on • effective technical assistance, given the count~ 1 s great scarcivy of requirea.

. .

11

. . · ·expert~se and the absence of the kind ·qf institutional .. support ·needed for-. _effective implementation of development object! ves. In response to ·this · need, we have already tied technical assistance to capital financing in . . several previous ];.ending operations·. For example, the first highway project · · (Loan 710; Credit 218) contains UNDP-financed. technical assistance fo~ ·highway organization and maintenance. The agriculture credit approved in June ·1972 .. provides for the identification and preparation of two agricultural projects . iri the northern and central .. parts of the country. _However, we feel that a more sustained. program o1· .assistance for pro·ject identification a:nd preparation · will soon be required, particularly sinc·e .new ideas for project possibilities are ·emerging or likely to emerge in the agriculture and education sectors. · These possibilities could languish unless Sierra Leone is able to capitalize on · them. · This is why we have included a proposed project ._for project preparation in the lending program (see para. 32).

24. The ecpnomic policy ~easures agreed upon with Government in Sep·vember f971 indicate the type of as sistance we conter.:plate in the economic/financial

. field. These measures were ac8p~ed by Gove~~~e~t with the assistance of Bank economist s ~o v"isi~ ect -:::e c v- ~ ~::, :·:-- t.!:r3e t imes within a seven-month period. These visi t.S have '::>ee. ws:cor:-::d oy the Government and have been . most useful in influencing financial policies and. in :L'11proving relations

· generally. We believe that liaison of this . sort ·is imperative and. we plan to continue to offer ad~ce when the Governmen~ requests or when we think it is warranted • . Our economic wo~. program also includes a basic economic mission scheduled for next fall (para. 13) and a possible agricul~ure sector mission within the next year.

25·. This, in general terms, is our strategy for aiding Sierra Leone's development. · The propof· ed lending program, as outlined in Attachment 1 ,_ reflects this st-rategy. All future lending will, however, contin~e to ·be dependent on evidence of continued improvement in Governi!'lent 's overall management . of the economy; as outlined in the policy understandings reachea last year.

26. To ~ate, Bank Group lending to Sierra Leone, wtich began in 1964, has totalled $22.2 million. Of -this 35% went to power, 32% to road trans~ort, 19% to agricult~~ and 14% to education. In comparison, our propJsed lending program (FY1974-78) allocates 48% to agriculture, 24% to roads and 27% to education, reflec·ting the priority areas designated by the· goverrunent (para. 7).

27. · For the FY1974-78 period, the · ope rations program totals US$39 .0 · million. Allowing for sJ. i_ppages, the lending program would be about U~29.0 million, an average lending volUme of· almost $6.o· rnillion a year. In the last CPN, the five-year operations program totalled US$j_>.O million and the J.ending program averaged about U&$5.0 million annually.

28. The main differences from last year's lending y rogram are: (a) mere s ecific desi nation of nroposed a riculture proj~c~~ w~ ne addition or--­an unidentified project of US$3 .'0 million for· FY1 97 ; (b) addition of a

- . J ,.

· .

. . . .. .. - 12

proposed credit of U3~1 • 0 rrC.llion : o:: :; :'o j ec t i den:,if:cation a..11.d nrepara.tio·n to help deal with the ~ - ob2_ e:-: .::; -:; ~::. :=.::-:2~ i t~ ::;:?. ~&.g~ ~-:: ::~ 23 . The operations n r og r a.:n a3 o r e::-=:2-:.eC. ey::..;.i::.::.~ :; a. :: c..:: .:; :_:=.:s 3-J.::;Dl·amentary loan requested by .the~-~l·err~ r . ~-.. ·..-. .::: ;:;- , -::.~ --,.; - -,- •>" ~ .,::---. -. ·- ~ on ··Th-· l..S would likely l."nvolve no ' ...., d. - - u ... .. ... __. __ 'o.J '"" _ _ ... _. _ .,; , ..)......., _ __ \..,~-- .. .... ~ • • •

more than US.$1 . 0 million . A super vi sion mission is now in the field and its report will be availabie in Octo.ber.)

29. · The recommended lending program would provide about the same blend of Bank/IDA financing as proposed last year. 'lhis, as disc.ussed earlier, appears justified given Sierra Leone's ·:low ·savings pot-ential, its povez:ty, its need. for a substantial inflm-1. o.,: capital over a long period and. the fact · that more project financing possibilities now exist, especially in agr~culture. The shift in development emphasis to agriculture -- a sector in which p~ojects tend to have a relatively low foreign exchange component -- m~ans that ~ome financing of local expenditure will be required •

. D. ECONO~-:~C ::.:SC'rO R.S AND SECTO FAL DISTRIBUTION OF BANK/IDA OFERI\TIONS

30. Several issues ·and some problems had arisen in connection wi tli the · execution of Bank Group proje_cts. in Sierra Leone. Imp .... ementation of the. First Highway Project (710-SL; 218~SL) was substantially delayed because: (a) bids for construction of the 43 mile Bo-Kenema road were about ~0% higher than the appraisal estiJnate;-- (b) government evaluation of bids for purchase . of highway maintenance equipment substantially conflicted with Bank guiuelines.

..

These difl'iculties have now been resolved~ ·Goverrunent has agreed to rebid -=-·

for the highway maintenance equipmen~. Construction of .the road will proceed on the basis of a management type contract. .Under this method, the cost of construction is expectad to be s"L:bsta.ntially loiTer t han tLnder the original ~ids. The Govern.rr.en~ ~O"~r:- b c.;li. :;ves -:.!;at the r::: is a good possib~lity that the project can be financea -wj_ thin i'lmds allocat ed under the Loan/Credit ma~·e in 1970. Since no supplementa~J f Ln2ncing has been requested at the present . time, Government has asked that we consider supplementa~ financing if costs should increase higher than proposed . ile ·have agreed to recommend to the Board to do so if necessary and, therefore, included $1 .0 million in the proposed program for FY1974 to cove r such a contingency~ ·

31 • So far as future operations are concerned, i t is proposed that the !t'l.ajor share be allocated. . to agri ... ulture. ·· T'nis .is .consistent with prior:i~ies established by Government. At ~he ti me of the last CPN review, our contri­bution to agricul ~ure ove:c whe long -~erm could be· aefineu only in general terms. Now, v-;ith approval of the f irst agriculture credit, we are in a position to be able to outline our strategy more concre~ly. Generally the strategy is to use the experience of the first project as a springboard for furthe~ assistance aimed especi ally at helping those sect ions of the countiy, such as the north, which, to date, have been ld.rgely j.gnored. The agriculture project itself provides for consultants' studies to -prepare an · te rat d.

agricultural development project in the north and a forestry development project in the Tama reserve are1r .

. j '

I · •

..

:·:~~~~:-~ -~ E . . ··:_~~-. :-. :.- . i. . ... • ~ ..

~ .. . ·:. . . . . · ·.· ·. ·. i

• • o I • •• ' o ~· " l ~ ., , :

· :·:~ .... ~.· -,~ - ~ .. ' ~·

; .. 1 • • • • .. • ~

... . . . ' : .. ' .. . :. .. .. ·. ; -~ . ~ .. ·· .· ;' '

,· · .. . !· _: . . , .... ·.'

• .. · :·- ._ . .. _.:· .- • . ' .. i· : • .. ; . .. ~

32.. LivestoQk develoJ)m~nt offers .. po~sibilities . (~·ee p~a. · 8). Government .iS now anxious to explore. the possibiliti~s .: pf a beef production . ·program and has asked the Bank Group for assistance. fA mission visited . . the countr.y in mid-August and identified five - possib~e locations fo~ live- . stock development invol v.i.ng cattle breeding and fattemrig. · Beyond these project ossibilities there are distant projects for another lending operatiQn · in th orth after the· integrated development project. · This -unidentified _projec een scheduled for FY1978.

33. Since -the· .ma.jo.r share in future op~ratibns ·m.ll be allocated to · · agriculture, · educati.on .development should be ·-linked cl.Dsely.with -work in the riculture sec r, partic~arly to help meet Sierra Leone's urgent need for adequately trained manpower in all aspects of agriculture. Progr~-ss on the f.irst education project has generally been satis1·actory. · The planned manpower · study, del~ed for some time, is now underway and eigh:t UNDP-ILO experts in technical education and. instructor traiiling . are in post. The education sector review by UNESOO, proposed for FY1973, "·would delineate priority areas to be included in a second oroposed project, scheduled for m975; and a p~ssible third project; as yet uriidentif"ied, · for FY1978.

34. In the Transport Sector, the consultants provided under the First Highway Project are being financed by the UNDP and will carry out: (i) a

~ ·1 feasibility study of the 5-mile urban section of the Freetown-Waterloo road (including updating the fea:ill5I1ity study of the 18-mile rural section, financed under the UNDP Land Transport Survey), and (j_i_) detailed engineerwg; if found to be justified, of the 5-mile urban section (including amending the detailed engineering of the rural sectiOn, retroadtively financed under the First Highway Project, as necessary to fit the ·urban section). A ·total of US$9 .0 million ($6 .0 million Bank; $3 .o million IDA ' has been proposed for this road in the lending program; but it has bee~ sli ppeu to FY1975. from ·. FY1974, as s_hown in last year's CPN, because of the C.elays already encountered in the project• Au unidentified project, possibly invol·v.ing feeder roads, · h~s been incluaed for Yi1 9? 6. ·

35. . As was indicated. ' earlier (para. 12), pro ··ect· and

·, ..

preparation is a serious shortcoming in Sierra Leone. e -coun eeds special . assistance ·in this area, in addition to what is _provided ·as part of project

work. vJ'e have therefore included a proposed credit of US.$1 .0 million for FY1973 for project identification and preparation purposes. This woUld dovetail. logically with the pre-identification work being conducted ·by the. special · assistance team in the Ministry of Agriculture provid~J. by the United Kingdom · as well as with the work of the proposed UNESCO team in education. The need for Bank Group assistance in this direction is underscored by the fact that the UNDP has indicated that it would cut back its aid to .Sierra .Leone. . .There is now less assurance than in the-past that adequate funds will be available for such purposes. 'lherefore, the Bank Group should :t>e prepared to heip. ~'le would propose to discuss this item more fully with .Gpve~~ent later this yea:r, as work in the agriculture and education sectors begins to materialize.

•,.: -. ,-·!

- 14 -

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIOUS . r' a

36. While thS political situation in Sierra Leone has stabilized ·and there is evidence of ·overnment resolve to ut its economic house ~n order, the overali situation remains uncertain and . ris~ • . We are prepared, never­theless, to move ahead cautiously with a modestly increased lending program with. about the same blend proposed last year. :Einphasis will be on ~ricul tural development and we will complement project work with economic/financial -advice, wherever required, and. technical assistance both for l.IlS ution

.btlil ding and project preparation. · Execution of this lending strategy will be 'Contingent on.· concrete evidence of continued willingness of Government to take · re=quisi te measures for improved management of the economy.

West ern African Department · ~ptember 28, 1972

.s \

. - .

. .

. hplulatloa: 2.6 •·; 2.41. p.a.

:_· .. :.· . ·i.

· ..... :.:.

. :~ .

. . ; '

.. ;.: .

I'UIA LION!; ·. ACTUAL A.N'P PROPOSED L!lft)INC TlW>UCR .lT ltlt: . ($ ta11Un) : .. :

. . . .. \ .. ..

fuCapinc: $190 (1971); 1.11.p.a. lt72-78 .. Area~ 72,326 aq. ¥Ia Attac..._tl

Ltterac7: 271. adult pop. (1970) ·

~-. - - Throuah Actual Current Pro~:r- Total Total FY68 FY69 FY70 FY7l FYn . FY73 FY74 · FY7S FY76 FY77 FY78 FY64·68 FY69·73

lDtlll'&tacl AgTlc. Dev.. I IDA 4.3 . ..

A,riculture - Livestock IDA 4.0 · *~ · :-)f. · . latell'atacl A&ric:. Dev. II IDA .. ..

. 4.0 . .' * qriculture - Forestry Int. ··, 3.0 . qr1cu1ture • Unideatifled IDA 3.0* . ..

-lducatioa t IDA l.O iducation II IDA ·' . . 5.o· Uucatlon • Unidentified IDl 3.0* ..

lover I (King !0111) IIRD 3.8

I Paver II (King T0111· Expansion) IBRD 3.9 .. Paver III IBRJ) 3.0 * ..

~ject Identification and Prep. IDA 1.0 *

l.oacla I (Bo•JCenea) IDA 3.5 ·l.oada I ( .. ) IBRD ).7 / l.oada la (Bo-Xenea Supplementary) IDA loada II (Freetovn·Waterloo) . IDA. 3.0 ~ada 11 ( " . ) IBRD 6.0 loada Ill - Unidentified IIRD . 4.0

- ·- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- ---OperatiODa Progr• IBID

: - - 6.0. . 4.0 3.0 -. IDA J...2 ..1:..Q _L.Q ~· 3.0 ...!.&Q 'l'otal 1.0 5.0 14.0 8.0 6:0 6.0 .o. -r= =r= =r= =r= -r- -r-

teadln& ProP'• lUI) 3.8 3.9 - 3. 7 - - - 6.0 - - ·- 3.8 7.6 .IDA - - 3.0 3.5 4.3 1.0 .5.0 ~ 4.0 3."0 ~ 11.8 Total 3:8 3:9 "'T.O '"T.2 4':3 1.0 'TO 11.0 t::O -:r.o 6.0 --r.r ~ Ra. -r- ..,- _..,- -r ..,- ..,- -r -r ~ T -r ---r- .,---

-.

II~ o/a lDcl. undhburaed 3.5 1.0 ~.9 10.6 10.5 10.2 10.0 15.5 - lS.O 17.5 17.0 excl. unclhburaed 3.5 3.2 4.2 6.3 6.9 7.5 8.1 s.s 9.3 . 10.5 11.9 -

... IIID Croaa dilburaemenu 3.8 0.1 1.1 2.1 0.6 0.9 0.9 .> .a 1.3 1.7 2.0 3.!

Lea a: Amortization 0.2 . 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 ('.4 0 . 5 0.'5 0.6 (.2 Equala: Net disbursement·• 3.6 -0~1 0.9 1.9 0.4 0.6 0.6 o • .:. 0.8 1.2 1.4 3.6.

' Laaa: Iaterest 6a Ch.arges 0.7 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 o.s o.~ 0.6 0.7 0.8 ' 0.7 Bquala: Net transfer 2.9 . -o.J 0.7 1.6 - o.i 0.1 -o~ 1 0.2 0.5 0.6 2.9

UID/IDA Crosa disburaementa 3.8 0.1 1.1 2.1 1.2 2.3 3.3 3.5 4.6 5.6 5.9 3.8 tAll: Amortization 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 . 0.5 -- 0.5 0.6 C•.2 -lquala: Net dhbursementa 3.6 -0.1 0.9 1.9 1 . 0 2.0 3.0 3.1 4.1 5.1 5.3 !.6 Leaa: Intereat 6a Charges o. 7 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.8 · 1.3 1.5 C.7 lquh: let tranafer 2.9 -0.3 o. 7 1.6 0.6 1.4 2.4 2.7 3.3 3.8 3.8 2.9

llot'!: Since the lines I'3:•.u o/s excludes ?a:-t;!ci;')at.ion:: sold to thiN ;:art.ies, t..'ley cr..omot 'be !\u:.y· n.cor:cilPd vi u. tbo ticures tor di:o1lrsements, &r:\Ortizat.io~7 ~t.c., whica ·~uda t.rll!lsactions or. behalf o: t.."lira 9a:-~:!.:: s.

.:...

W.stcm .Africa 04!":>ar...:t~ent _~eptelllber 1 S, 1972

Total FY74-78

---. 13.0 .AJL

39.0 =n==-

6. () 23. 0 ~ -:-

..

~. llaU1 - OliclUJ. - Approwol

,.,~en • Jlo. -c-u- - 81cM4 - 11ft - lt'tect1ft

.·.__. 3.9 7/30/68 l'aorft' ~~~ .. IIRD 5" 3.9

lit.aatt. 3.0 12/'13/69 . Projeet 1/. 5/70 IDA 170 3.0 ,, 8/70

~ 3., lD/n/70 Projeet lD/29/70 . IDA 218 3., 'i/12./11

' JI1PrQ 3.T lD/2T/J9 Projeet ~Mm IBID 110 !I a.1

tatecratecl ... 3 6/20/72 A&rinltural Deftlos-ot 6/ YJ/72 . mA 323 . lq •• 1.

Ori&: lw: Aftl .

Ori&: llw: ~t

Ori&: !leY: . Aft:

Oria: llw: Act:

, .. : ... , !r . .. ~ ...

:-<; .•

. .; . . ;

liDlA. LIOD: CI.IIJt.AnVz ~. AID AC'ruAL DISaiiiiDcars .,. LOIJf6 AID ::REIIITS

. ($ .UUou)

..

Clod-. rcrnca.n "'I! n•:a .2!!!.- ~ !!!l! _l. ..L . I ....!.. ...L .L I

12/31/Tl 9/30/70 (.Ln) 3.• 3.6 3.7 3.9 3/31/71 3.3 3.5 3.7 3.9

12/31/Tl · - 3.3 3~· 3.6 3.8 3.9

6/30/714- ~30/70 (l.n) .1 .1 .2 ... .7 1.2 1.7 2.1 . /30/72 .3. .7 1 ... ,1.9 . .1 .1 .1 .2

6/lo/75 lD/12/70 • 8 1.1 1 ... 1.9 2 ... 3.0 3.; . - 5/31/72 ..• ... A .8 ·.a. .... 611?.175 ~fill: .1 .T

. .

Ori&: .· 3/~76 .,, 6ir2 .1 . ) llw: ~:

Y ~o ~ d11'bvHil after . Cndit .218 SL. ( uc• ...C1a1 ~ta.lh) •

.,f'

:··

;- . Attachlnent ·2 .· ) . .. • . ., .

··.:·)"

_L ~ !I.:n !!:.1!" !!:!!. !!.:!! n::!2. ~ .

-2 ... 3.0 2 ... 2.9 3.0

1.1 3.5 -· -~-3 2.7 3.7

1.9 3.7

.a 2.8 3.7 .. :,

ColltNll•r • I ~ 28 ' 72

i

Last f,conomic t-~i.ssion )'.arc;n l9n ·

..• . ·• !r . '· .... :

:.· .. · .. . . . .. .

J · ,:

INDICATORS OF DEVELOR-!E~rr . .

!951-56 I. ECONOlUC & STRACTUJJ,L INDICAT0rt3

1. Gro~s D~estic Product (at factor cos·t ~ constant mark-et prices) % Chance .

2. Manufacturing Qutput. f.l/ · % Charige 3· Agricultural ou;~ut sf % Cmnge 1!. Mini!)~ Ou tput ~ . % Change .. s. Imports of Goods · a nd !-if'S % 'chanee 6~ E..'q>O!'ts of Goods and .N:-'3 · % Change 1· Daitestic Pri·:e Level ~ % Chan&e

8 • . Gross National Savings % GDP 9. Resource Gap %GOP

10. Net Factor Payments Abroad % GDf 11. Gross Donestic Inves~~ent % GDP 12. Ex~er.nA~-·~bt-Service .% exporttlf 13- Extern~l Debt Service %current revenues 14. central .Government CUrrent .Revenue %GOP 1S. Central Government CUITent Surplus

(Deficit} % GDP 16. · Public EXp. on Social Services !f % GDP· 11· Military Eq>enditure % GDP 1a. Manufacturing Output ~ . % GDP 19. Enere7 Consumption a1l.lion tons 20. Electricity Generated llillion kwh 21. Ferlilizcr Consumption •ooo tons

n. SOCIAL DIDIGA TOtlS

22. Population Growth Rate "¥ %

.· .... . . ... ·. I . . .

. . . - ' ..

: . . .. .. . . • • I ' •

·. 3~9.! . . 3.2sl

3.ea/ l.oi"/ 2.2'C/ 4.0-4-3

1~~ss 1969/70 --rs:T

-2.$ +0., -2~7 -1.8 11.~ s. 16.9}\/

8.,):: . 1).6 1$.4 1).$ 16.3.

. .0~2· .. •1.4 4.0 4.2 0.7 0.8 s.s S·3

89.-Js'

-J.S . 0 . e/ . -2.3-

. · l%lf5 1966-70 197:- ?; . · 2. ~

23 Urban PopUlation Gro~h &~te % ,,. - 2.~ 3· .

24. Freetown Pog~tion Growth Hate % . ~""r: ·~ s.or.t 2$. Birth Rate- Per 1,000 popl n. 26. Fal!lily Planning Acceptors 1000s 27. Inc01:1e of: P~ehest quintile % tot,:U. inc01'1e 28 • . Income of: LO\...est a'.lintile % total i.ncOI!Ie 29. Inccn-:t of: Lowest 2o:; ;C total ir.eane )0. School enrolL~ent: Primary & Secondary % School-aee popl.t. 31· Literacy rate % adult popl:n. )2. Un~loym~nt rate % labor force 33· Population per hospital bed Nulllber

V J)u'inc the period 1905/66-l9e>9/70 §I Value added at constant factor cost gj A three-year ave:"age (1964 -65 and. 66) _was tak~n as a b~tsA dl ~etown only · !/ The decline in the inde:{ill 1971 is e~'i l•,:.· ~m 1Jnlt'R:a:al ri~~ in th~

previous year due to large .imports or rice necessitated by a bad crop !/. Exports of goods and ~J:t·"'S

. i/ 1965 iill971 . . fl Roth current and capital expenditures jz Value added at current market prices ~ 1970; excluding the Mining ca'!panie:J Y' Growth rntes in accordance to.'ith KaJII;lrck' s Jotemo of Decelllber l, 1970 !¥ 1960-70 !Y Since 1963 "§/ w.,stern . area only P/1968/69 91 196)

. ~ ... -

!&2.4 41.1

33.8

3.8 2.S.ee! 27.ri/

12J03!

in 19'~9/70

. Wutern Africa Departl'lent August 1, 1972

J~O

.s.o 4.0

. ' .

COill~TRY DATA: SillllilA. h~01ill

(Leone 1 = US$ 1.22)

Area: 72,326 square lan

Population : Size (1970) Rate of e;ro-v;th

Percapita GDP (1969/70)

Gro ss Domestic Product (million Leone ) at Factor Cost :, 1963/64 prices

1963/64 % 1969/70 Grov-rth rate

% 1963/64-1969/70 /

_./ / Agriculture 96.5

Ydning and Quarr~ng 36.6 Nanufacturing 12.0

42.3 3.7 .8 ~b~· 1.3 104.7 16.1 42.8 ~ 2.6

5.3 15. 0 . 3.8 Construction 7.1 3.1 12.4 4.5 9.8 Electricity, Gas, V.Iater etc. 1.1 Transport and Gcr;l.nunication 14.5 1·]}-J.Olesale and Retail Trade 28.7

0.5 2.3 0.8 13.1 6.4 21.5 .8 6.8

12.6 33.2 2.5 Ban..king, Inm.~:~ctnce , Real Estate 1. 2 0.5 3.2 17.8 01-mership of Th·:Plling ll. 7 Public AdmintBt r~tion 11.6

5.1 14.6 3.7 5.1 16 .0 ~ 5 .,/0

Education, hea~tn, defense 7.1 3.1 10.2 6.2 and others

GDP 228.0 100.0 275.4 100.0 3.2

Goverrunent FinGr.ce · 1969/70

Current Revt~nue 56.6 Current Expenditure (nori-debt ) -39.8 Debt Serv~0e PaJ~ents -12.0 Current Acco.uYL Balance 4. 8

.Development I~xpenditure (Estimates)- 9.8

Balance of Pa~~ (million Leone)

Exports (f .. o.b.) Imports (cif) Trade Balance Services (net) Transfers (!"t +,)

12.§2 87-C · 82.1 5.5

-17.5 3.6

1970 83.3 85.8

- 2.5 -15.0

. 4.3

1971/72

53.6 -46.7 - T6:e2

0.7 - 9.3

1971 85.8 83.1 2.7

-17.7 4.9

(Jar...~ Sept). 1972 65 c( 68 .. ;

- 3 • .3

1-'· I-'•

a/ There is a large amount of unpaid bills t0 the private sector.

Western ··Africa Division lB December 29, 1972

SIERRA LEONE: A NOTE ON THE CURRENT ECONOMIC SITUATION

A. Recent Developments

1. Despite recent efforts to improve overall economic and financial management, the Government of Sierra Leone has not yet been able to move very far away from the underlying weaknesses which have been noted in previous economic reporting. Wijjle prjce stability was maintained in both 1 0 and e be innin or-

nflationar.y pressures resulting from large increases in Government borroflngs from the barik1ng s st em. This Became necessa:ry l:atgely

ecause of budgetary weaknesses w 1ch had revealed themselves earlier -since 1970 gurrept h]]dget. expendi ±ures haw iQOUR a tQiR/ii&Rey= t& in area~~ §barpl~, despite evidence the government revenues showed no upward /\ buoyancy - in fact revealed a negative trend relative to national income. The resulting worsening in the public savings performance was further accentuated by the ination ~J to re1 excessivel --~

2. The Government's fiscal and financial performance has weakened substantially after 1970 . Total government revenue rose at an average of about 10% per annum between 1962/63 and 1969/70 and improved the ratio of government revenues to GDP from 14.7% to 16.3% during that period. However, in both 1970/71 and 1971/72 the level of government revenues rema:ined stationary at around Leone 56 million. Th tio of o declined to 15. 3% d · 0 and a p~ars to ha~e-det~~.· ~~QM~~~~~~~~~ .. _.._~~ recur~sn budg~ry ~n~d~i~t~u~r~e~r~o~se~~~~~~~~~~ 7.3% per annum throughout the decade Debt servicing

- 2 -

increased most rapidly in recent years - at a rate of 16 percent annum. Under these circumstances +b a Gouernmept, has he en forced

rowin s from the banki s stem.

Th~e:tng a; a beiii' a M81s eredi t eriod t ercent.

re it extended to the private sector remained at a stationary level during the same period. Government borrowings were implemented largely through the issuance of Treasury Bills; the level of such bills increased from Leone 13 million in the beginning of 1972 to Leone 22 million by end of October 1972 - an increase of about 70 percent in ten months. Most of these bills were absorbed by the commercial banks and the semi-government institutions.

4. Sierra Leone has experienced relative price stability during recent years. The cost of living rose by about 3 percent per annum during 1969-71 and 4.4% during the 12-month period to September 1972. The food prices have increased relatively more rapidly. To the end of 1971, the increase in money supply had been restrained -- rising only by about 3 percent per annum during 1970 and 1971. However, during the first three quarters of 1972, the money supply increased by about 10 percent; mostly due to government borrowings.

5. Reliable national income statistics are only available for the period 1963/64 - 1969/70. These show a growth in real GDP of around 3-3.5 percent per annum during this period. Growth in the agricultural sector (about 1.3 percent per annum) did not keep abreast of population increases. Most of the growth in GDP originated in domestic construction and the foreign-owned mining sector. With respect to 1970/71, preliminar.1 estimates show agriculture production increased by about 3 ·percent but production volume in the mining sector increased only by about 2 percent. Due to about a 6 percent decrease in the unit value of diamond exports, total value of such exports was reduced from Leone 62 million in 1969 to Leone 51 million in 1970. Due to improved conditions in the U.S. market the unit price of diamonds has improved by 13 percent during the first 9 months of 1972. However, with a reduction of about 7 percent in the voJume of diamond exports, the export proceeds from diamonds increased by only Leone 3 million during the first three quarters of 1972 compared to the same period the year before.

B. Assessment of Progress on Economic Policy Understandings

6. Some of these continuing problems have been subject of policy understandings which the Government reached with the Bank during the 1971 Annual Meetings, designed mainly to improve financial and economic management and to initiate a systematic development effort. The summary of these policy understandings are:

(i) improving economic policy coordination within the Government through the creation of an Economic Advisory Committee (EAC);

7.

- 3 -

(ii) observing a freeze on contracting and guaranteeing external public debts of 12-year maturity or less until April 1, 1972 and limiting such short and medium term .credit on commercial terms to no more than US$3.0 million equivalent between April 1, 1972 and June 30, 1973;

(iii) maintaining an adequate level of foreign exchange reserves, equivalent to not less than three months imports;

(iv) mobilizing Government savings with emphasis on im­proving the collection and enforcement of taxes, introducing new taxes and tightening budgetary controls;

(v) improving development planning through the formulation of clear development policy guidelines and the creation of appropriate planning machinery and institutions.

Economic Advise~ Committee

a~~e at the hi hest s ·Economic Advisory Committee (EAC), which was created in Novem er 1971 with the Principal Financial Secretary (of the Ministry of Finance) as its Chairman, was to advise the Government on all matters relating to economic policy; particularly before external debts would be incurred or guaranteed by the Government. It was expected to bring together the joint advice of the chief civil servants and technical experts in the various Ministries for the consideration by the Cabinet. The Committee was expected to meet regularly.

8. In actual ractice EAC has met onl t _·ce. Neither the Cabinet nor the Economic Sub-Connnittee o e abine has referred any economic policy matter to EAC. D$AiSiaps on economic policy continue to be tak;en op ap ad hac hasi.s and the EAC has not been allowed to play the role envisaged for it. Because of the intense i ter-Mi "sterial ealousies so revalent within the Government, many of the other mi es take the view tha EAC is merely an arm of t · nistry of Fina exercise yet an o contr over eir o e atio~. Therefore, ey e ~ era e y ry to keep it dormant. The recent establishment of the National Planning Council (discussed below in para. 18) is no substitute for EAC because their roles were expected to be mutually complementary. If the idea of a broad-based economic advisory machinery such as EAC is not accepted, economic decision-making could be improved through the appointment of an Economic Advisor of high calibre and international reputation, who could freely offer advice to the President and to the Economic Sub-Committee of the Cabinet. In this connection, it may be mentioned that a former IBRD staff member (Mr. Gunther Conrad) held such a position for several

- 4 -

years until 1971 when he left Sierra Leone over differences as to the Government's economic policies. Under the circumstances, as a first step, the Bank should · ress u on to levels of the Government that

___ th, s[J.g_y;J..g_.~!:-£1!..-~~~~~~ves of the presenc -~~.....:.:~::~~~-:'~ of the UNDP lanning unit loca e m · e ~n s a e same time, re ng y enlisting support important economic ministries.

Supplier's Credits

9. ReJiacca 012 sJJppJier's credjts has been a ,eersistent traiN in Sierra Legne'B financial affairs. Despite the countr.y's diffi- ~ ,,~ culties with these credits in the early 1960 1 s, leading to an IMF- · supervised stabilization program, the Government continues to resort to such credits for what it considers "urgent" projects. Restraint is particularly important now with the tight budgetary position. There is great temptation for many ministries to resort to supplier's credit to finance rather ill-prepared projects. W · s the agr d 14 month eriod the $3.0 million ceili ntractin or guarantee · of . 0. million.

ere iS considerable danger that in view of the approaching e s the limit may soon be exceeded substantially. Some potential suppliers who appear to know that the Government has agreed with the Bank to limit credits of 12 years or less maturity now proposes slightly longer maturities, e.g. the proposed $1 million Italian loan for construction of a 1000-bed hospital offers between 12 and 1 yea ma y; the proposed Canad~an-Italian 2 million supplier's credit for the Bwnbuna hydro-electric scheme 'envisages year ma ur~ y; an e proposed Leone 42 ffiil~ion ±o~n f 0t general purpgses ASPI (Alvarez Scambi Progetti Internazionali) of Italy is reportea to be for 20 year maturity. Regrettably all of thes . . oans carry high interest ~

th.e ~ u ge

10. We should therefore emphasize strongly to the Government t~ the contract of such suppi~er's credits will o s n the q,~ ;;ai~s:.Mion and ba ance of paym:n and also weaken Sierra Leone's standing with bilateral donor§na international agencies.

Foreign Exchange Reserves

11. In contrast to the domestic finance situation, the foreign

- 5 -

exchange reserve position has improved recently. Net foreign exchange assets increased from Leone 30 million (US$36 million) in September 1971 to Leone 37 million (or $47 million) in September 1972. The current level of foreign exchange reserves, therefore, provides a comfortable four months import cover. However, if the developing inflationar.y pressures are not contained, they could quickly erode this foreign exchange reserve position.

Public Sector Savings

12. On the basis of the 1971 IMF report on taxation, the Government has already amended the Income Tax Act which will become effective on April 1, 1973. The Amended Income Tax Act, if implemented efficiently, could improve the revenue situation during the course of the next fiscal year. During the last Budget presentation, iJJJ3~.H1Dltl"t:~r o~ Finance emphas~~ed t~ Government's intention to collect tax arrears~

and :improve the enforcement of custom duty collection. However, so far, the Government has achieved little success, perhaps due to ~f­hearted attempts in view of impending elections. The Government's capacity to collect arrears on taxes is also limited ·by lack of staff, transportation facilities, administrative facilities, as well as legislative provisions. It is estimated that the book value of tax arrears are between Leone 3 to 4 million, with collectable arrears probably half of that amount.

13. The Government's tight cash position results to a large extent from extra-budgetary expenditures, despite its avowed intention to have the 1972/73 budget estimates prepared on a realistic basis. The contingency fund of Leones 0.2 million has alreaqy been exhausted. It is estimated that supplementary .budget authorizations on current account during this fiscal year will amount to .between Leone 4-5 million (including about Leone 1 million for elections) - in total about 8 - 10 percent of the recurrent expenditures. Similarly, special or supplementary warrants for development expenditures already issued exceed Leone 1 million and there are likely to be further increases in these expenditures over and above the budgeted sums. To cover the rapidly rising expenditures, the Government is tempted to resort to expensive supplier's credits. Due to the vigorous efforts of the Bank of Sierra Leone and the Minist~ of Finance, the Government has been temporarily dissuaded . However, these two agencies have recently had to agree that as a substitute for contracting supplier's credits, the Government would float Development Bonds, for about Leone 5 million, which the Bank of Sierra Leone will underwrite. There is a very limited market for such bonds with private and institutional investors and it is most .likely that the Bank of Sierra Leone will have to absorb most of the proposed sums, thus accentuating further the inflationary pressures. The Bank of Sierra Leone believes that, compared to the use of suppliers' credit, such action is probably the lesser of the two evils.

16. In order to generate more satisfactory public savings, the

- 6 -

Government mpg1; eo Uigeel l>e a,,.y ·more rigid &:Wtanci aJ controls on recurren~ _expendityres aUQ to tak;e steps to raise revenug.s. -

Development Planning

17. In contrast to serious setbacks to the Economic Advisory Committee, a development planning machinery is now becoming operational. After almost two years of recruitment efforts by UN headquarters, the UNDP-financed development planning team has finally found a suitable project manager (Dr. M. Mesaric from Yugoslavia). However, a possible obstacle to team's effectiveness is that it is subordinated to ~. h an able civil serva · · )~

".:.;;.;;;;_.._.. ...... ~iii7AitiMilii--.~J.-=· n._t•h•.E3._G•o•v•e•rnm._8e~n;.;;t;,i·-n;;;o~r ~~~ryss!':!~!:. ~,,

18. The Planning Unit is currently collecting infor.mation at the marcro and sectoral levels with a view to reviewing developments during the last decade and is compiling a complete inventory of all existing investment projects. This review ·is expected to be completed in January 1973. The Unit will then draw up preliminary projectsion for the economy as a whole and its main sectors. By May 1973 it is expected to elaborate ·the preliminary findings with a view to delineating a development strategy and mapping out alternative growth patterns. Thereafter sectoral programs will be prepared in detail and will be aggregated and put together to achieve a balance through successive approximations of different targets, growth patterns and their resource implications. The first draft of the 5-year plan is expected by end February 1974. During March-April 1974, extensive plan discussions will take place which will enable the Planning Unit to finalize it by June 1974 so that fiscal year 1974/75 would become the first year of the plan period.

19. This time schedule and work program look very reasonable and appropriate. The Government has established a National Planning Council to be headed by the President. The first meeting of the Council is expected to take place in mid-January and to review, among other things, the time schedule mentioned above; decide on the Plan period; approve establishment of planning units in all major ministries and sectors; and create an appropriate administrative machinery to formulate the develop­ment plan.

20. The Bank had been tentatively planning a basic economic mission to Sierra Leone in the fall of 1973. In the light of above time schedule, it may possibly be more appropriate to send the mission after the first draft of the Plan has been completed (i.e. about February­March 1974). Then the mission may benefit most effectively from the work of the Planning Unit and offer its comments on the priori ties, development strategy and policies. It should be made known to the Government that the Bank's lending programs would draw heavily on the Development Plan after review by the proposed basic mission.

- 7 -

This will strengthen the planning · effort now being initiated. Meanwhile, to help improve resource allocation in priority areas, it seems important • for the Bank to support broad-based project identification and preparation work in Sierra Leone.

December 29, 1972 Western Africa Region

- --- ------------------------------------------

CHAPTER III

THE H011E FROM HOME

Freetown

REETO\VN, the capital of Sierra Leone, at first was just n impression of heat and damp; the mist streamed long the lower streets and lay over the roofs like smoke. ~at ', convention:11ly grand; rising in tree-covered hills b~\.~... . t~e· .sea aiJ.d th~ town, .a dull uninter~sting g{een, . vas powerless to carry off the shabby. town: One could ·

1 . " l' - d 1 b . 1 ,.1 • • h see tw:: .11.11gdcan cat 1e ra , nc,;: :1nu tln \ \'lt1 a squ::ue tower, a Norman cht: rch built in the nineteenth century, sticking up out of tt e early morning fog. There was no doubt at all that one was back in home \Vaters. ·Among the swarm of Kru boats round the ship the Princess 1vfarina with its fre shly painted name was prominent. "Princess Marina, P:-incess ~..farina,', the. half-naked owner kept on calling. "Sweetest boat on the co~st." ·

Tin roofs and peeling posters dnd broken windows in the public library and wooden stores, Freetown had a Bret Harte air without the excitement, the saloons, the revolver shots or the horses. There was only one horse in the whole city, it w as pointed out to me by the pro­prietor of the Grand Hotel, a thin piebJld beast pulled down the main street like a mule, with the prominent

34

THE HO~!~ F!\0~1 HO~iE. 35

bony. thighs (I <.1on·t know the proper horsy term) of an elderly Sc.)tswornan. There hJ<.l been other h orses from time (0 tirne, but they hJd all died. \Vhcre there wJsn't a tin shed there were huge hoardings covered \Vith b st

Year's Poppy Day posters (the dJte was January the 1

, . , .fifteenth) .. On the roofs the vu tures sat nuzz1illg uncer their · win ~r. s with horrible tiny undeveloped heads; they squatted i~ the gardeas like turkeys; I could count seve* out of my bedroom window. \Vhen they ooved fro::il one perch to another they gave no sensation of anythi~g so 3.erial as flight; they seemed to hop across the stre borne up just high enough by the fbp-£hp o£ their c\u~ · .. · w1ngs. .

This \V:lS an English capital city; England h:id plan~..-o this to·.vn, the tin shacks and the Remembra71ce D.1y postcn ,. and .had then \Vithdrawn up the hiLside to sm. --= .. ~ bun<Tai J'vVS \vith v.'ide windows and clect:-ic Lns a:-:..:1

. b ' . .

perfe: l s{:rvice. -Every call one paid on a v.rhit "' n~.an co;t ten ~:1i . l i ~1gs ~n t~xi fares, for the rail way to l iill Sta~ :s::t -no k ri ;e ~ ran. They had planted their seed y ~:iYJisat !0n. and th :n escaped frorn it as far as they could . 3vaythi~g ugly tr.. Freetown w as E~ropean: the stor.es, + . .:: clmrc:~~s, the .: ~c vernment offices, the two hotels; 1£ th e. e Y/as an)­thir.·.: ~ >cautiful in the pbce it was D;lt i·~· c: t!:;:. r ~ : l ~ !:::-:~L~ of t ~; e fr uit-sellers which went up after tbrk ; · t :he s:r~~t corn.::rs, lit by candles; the native won1en r o .E r. g h o::1e magnificently from church on a Su r!day m tY 1ing, ~e cheap European cottons, the deep coral or gr( e:: Houn c ~s, the wide straw hats, dignified by the native be~ring, \: l'e

lovely rcll of the thighs, the swing of the gr~J.t shoulders. They w(~re dressed for a garden p~rty and th~y carri ~d off chea) bright grandeur in the sn12ll backyarJs am • ;1g the vultures as nature couldn't carry off Freeto'.vn.

---------

6

36 JOURNEY \VITHOUT 1.1APS .

The men \Verc less assured; those of them who .\vere Creoles h::td been educ::tted to understand how they had been swindled, how they had been given the ;norst of

· two worlds, and they hJd enough power to .. express themselves in a soured officious way; they had died, in : so far as they had once been men, inside their European i clothes. They didn't complain, they hinted; they didn't ·!' fight for what they w~nted, they sourly prevaricated. ; "From what I g::trnered here and there,'' suggested the !

•t .,, .! ". i Creole aossip-\'vTiter in the Sierra Leone Da1 y n1a1 1 It ; is not tl~e intention of the Governor and his wife to ma.lce ; Gcvernor's Lodge, Hill Stati~n, the· offic~al residence ~of j the representative of His MaJesty the K1ng; t~os~ ~ho l r 'ntain the view that the environments at H11l StatiOn i m::ty influence them to the prejudice of the interest of the ! people are quite rr:istaken. In f~ct! . it is consi~,~~ed i~- 1 p:obable ~o entertain such a:1 op1r: wn, .a!1d ! b"ti.. .. ve H1s I Excellency will burst into peals of laughtet if he \vere to t hear such a thing. I leave it at that." · j

That \Vas the nearest they could get to a Petition of Rif!ht. They \VOre uniforms, occupied official positions, l w;nt to parties at Government House, had the vote, but j they knew all the time they were funny (Oh! those peals l of laughter), funny to the heJrtless prefect eye of the I \vhite· mJ.n. If they had been slaves they would h::tve had ! more dignity; there is no shame in being rule~ by a { stronger, but these men hid been given their tin shacks, 1

their cathedral, their votes and city councils, their shadow J of self-government; they \vere expected to play the part : like white men and the more they copied white men, the: more funny it was to the prefects. They were withered by laughter; the more desperately they tried to regain~ their dig!1itl_~he_~~-~ie£_they_E_e~~~e_._ }

THE HOME FROM HOME 37

uFashionabl~ Wedding at St. George's Cathedral

"St. G:orge's Cathedral was the scene of the ·first fJ.shionable wedding to take place there this year, on \Vecitlesday, the :::rth instJ.nt. . "The c:ontracting pJ.Ities were Miss Agatha Fidelia

,..... Araromi Shorunkeh-SJ.wyerr, fourth daughter of the late lvfr. J. ',C. Shorunkeh-SJ.wyerr, Barristcr-at-bw, and Mrs. Fra :-.:~ ;s 11. Shorunkeh-Sa\vyerr of 'Bells Et")uts,' King To! :~ _ Peninsula, and Mr. John Buxton C-:;unyorbu Logan of the Survey Dept., son of 11r. S. D. Logan, Re-tire ~~ Civil Service Officer. .

w·i·h:: bride entered the church at I.I5 p.m. leaning on ~ ~ ,.:: orm of her only brother, Mr. J. C. I. Shorunkeh­Sa\'!.i•.:tr) who subsequently gave her away.

' ·~ r. ~ wore a froc1: of whi~c bee lined with ·,vh·lte satin, an ! ~f full length. Its full court train was o: wD.ite bee lin(:· w:th rose-pink satin and it fell from th,:! shoulders. Sh ·~ · f:ad on a short veil held in place on ht · h·~ad by a coronet of orange blossoms. She carried a "bouquet of na t..lral flowers.

"She was followed by five bridesmaids, the 1fisses Molake Shorunkeh-Sa\vyerr (bride's sister) and Annie Macauby, being the chief. They \Vore s::tlmon-pink lace .frocks with georgette coatees of the same colour with \vhite stra\v hats vtith pink bJ.nds. The others were the Misses Fitzjoh~, Olivette Stuart, and Eileen \Villiams. These wore pink georgette frocks and p~k hats. The hymn 'Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost,' was sung as the bri(hl procession moved slowly up the nave. The full ~~o_ir c.f the cathedral, of which the bridegroom's father

.. ! ,

- ---. - -.--............ ..,_,

38 JOURNEY \VITHOUT 11APS

is the Dux, \Vas present, and ~fr. A. H. Stuart, F.G.C.O., the org:1nist, presided at his organ.

. "Imn1ediately after the ceremony, the guests repaired to the Crown Bottling Restaurant for Cake and Vline. This function was presided over by 1fr. A. E. Tuboku-1-Ietzger, M . .A.,J.P., an old friend of the bride's late father.

•·Here six toasts were proposed and responded to. .'titer this the company broke up, some going to the bridegroom's parents in VI aterloo Street, and others to the b:ides at King Tom's for more solid refreshments.

.:'About 6 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. John B. Logan left for their honeymoon some\vhere on the \Vilkinson Road.

"Before leaving them there, we wish them connubial bliss, and the best of l!.!ck.,

Sometimes it \vas almost Firbank, it recalled the Mouth far - r forcing their way into the highest social circles of the uty of Cuna-Cun:t1 but alas ! the smell of the fish laid fourteen deep in the roJdway,'the flowers withered :2nd P:. ~erbsting in the small public garden, the lo_w church hymns did not belong to Cuna-"Cuna, full Of charming :roses, full of violet shadows, full of music, full of love, C!!na ... l'' Wilkinson and \Vaterloo streets and the

rown Eottl ing Restaurant were a ooor exchanrre for C3rmcn Street, the Avenue MessaEna~ the Gr:1nd S::!van-.-·h Hotel. . Frccto ~n's exciten1cnts are very English, as Dakar's

""e very French; the G overnor-General's garden party, here \vhite and black, keeping sedulously apart on

ither side the beds, inspected the vegetables to the ound of a military b~nd: "Look, he's really managed to ro\V tomatoes. Darling, let's go and see the cabbages.

e those really lettuces?"; the Methodist Synod: "No-

, . .

TilE ll0~1E F!\.0\1 l IO~\E

ti.::c; .of rno:ions fall thick anLl faq. \Ve p:1 ss ?v~r some q ucstions in the agc~J_a n1canwhilc: \V ~ s1t m · cn~1: ·.v~1 iting to hear the }..1lsslOnJry Comtn1ttee s letter, cv~...ry one is attentive, we listen, the air is still, \Ve can hear the dropping of a pin;" literature from the Freetown Ede­droko Store which advertised, "Novels, Works of I-Iall Caine, lvfarie Corelli, R~ L. Stevenson) Bertha Clay, etc., e.g. by Cordli: l¥ orm.wood, Sorrows of Satan, Barabbqs, Vendetta, Thelma, ltJnocerzt; by Caine: The Dempst~r, A Son of 1-lagar, The Vloman Thou Gavest Jvfe; ey Stevenson: Treasure Island, The Black Arrow; by Clay: A TVoman's Temptation, Jrfarried for her Beauty, B~-yond Pardon." ·

The contributions of Dorothy Violetta 1vfallatson to

the local d1ily Press vividly summarise the eva!!gclical fun of Freetown: "Lookinz behind us, Christmas is just round the corner Jnd out of sight. Outspreading awJ.y into the distance there is sunshine, spo>:ts, :tnd dl the outdoor 1o\·s we love so \vd!. For the school ~irl or bey

' ) , 11 . there are s·.::hool sports to. t1ke awJy the ou1 ness Jnu flatness of the schoo1roon1 life. Then there is the Prize Distribution and Thank:::giving Service. For older people there is the All-Comers Tennis Competition and there is c.on1!~ ~ t~n shortly !nany <hnccs 3nd concerts. For in­stance~ th~re is the Danvers Dance on the 8th of Febru­ary; and the Play and Dance of the Ladies of the N :1t.ional Congress of Bri ish \Vest Africa which comes on the

h . ,

15t proxun o. It would be so much more amusing if it \Vas all untrue,

a fictitious skit on English 1::1ethods vf colonisation. But one cannot continue long to find the Creole's p:1i;1ful 2tten1vt at pbying the white man funny; it is rather ~ike the chimp~nzee's tea-party, the joke is all on one s1de ..

-~- --

40 JOURNEY \VITHOUT MAPS

Sometimes, of course, the buffoonery is conscious, and then the degradation is more complete. A few Creoles make money out of their prefects, by deliberately pby­ing the inferior, the lower boy: R. Lumpkin alias Bungie is the most famou·s example. He has become a character. Tourists are t:1ken to see his shop. You are advised by every white man you meet, in the long bar at the Gr:1nd, in the smJll bar at the City, on board ship: "You must go to Bungie's." He is the proprietor of the British­Afric::ln Workmen Store :1nd he styles himself 'Builder for the Dead, Repairer for the Living.' This is one of his advertisements: ·

Fear God Honour Your King, be just to mankind ·s Bungie.

E.:1 y System. British-African \Vorkmen Store undertake. to supply

Coffin with Hearst). Men, Grave, etc., py spetial arrange­ments for easy payrnent by instaln1ent.

Contracts taken up for Carpentry, Masonry, Painting etc., at moderate charges.

Ready-made Plain and Polished , Coffin supplied with I-Iearse and Uniforn1ed men at any moment. Corpse \Vashed and dressed.

Come! I'll bury the dead by easy system only be true to your sympalhetic friend.

That's Bungie.

. ' :

f -(

I i i ~ ­

;.

TI-lE HOh1E FROM H011E 41

Do not live like a fool and die like a big fool. Eat and. drink (Tood stuff, save small, be praying for a happy death, ilicn a decent funcr:1l. Bungic will do the rest.

I'll bury the Dead (Book of Tobias) I'll bury the dead and feed the living. TH.AT'S BUNGlE ALL OVER.

The City Bar

. f

I wan ~ed to do a pub crawl. \Ve we~e staying at the. Grand cecat..:se it advertised running \Vater in the rOO!L$ (cold rennj ng w3ter, of course, not hot). The long ~:;.r downs t;,irs was almost e1npty ; . I had put on Il;losqt!::.~ boots bcc:Jusc I h:1d been told tl :lt ever /O!le wore Jr.c _·-

- quito boots after sundoYvn; they were li.· e rid ing boo ... .s

jf! soft l~ather; they were very cOinfort::tblc. An Eng;)r:.h­man at the bar looked at thcrn. '~Been up-coentry? l:

asked ,vith contempt (a sartorial rule of the Old Boys~ , , , d I 1 - =-t-=~~_,.,..1\ ~~...l ~, .. ,....,. .... AssoClay_wn nJ. app::trenuy uecn 111u ..i.llb'-A-';, ·• • n~ .. ...... ~. ,.·~

back to the Sierra Leone Daily ~1ail. I went sadly u~­stJ.irs :1nd took them off. · But one c:1n't crawl very f::tr in Freetown. All one '"'~r ·do is to h:1ve a drink at the Grand and then go and hav"' a drink ~t the City; there is a. third restJ.urant but it clv-se.; at ten; it's "not quite the right pbce for an Englishm~:-t­Not because the bbcks go there, but because one I!1:S.)

find S;·riJn shopkeepers. The other two bars cl.os~ ~ · clc\'cn. The City is usually more crowded and no1sy be­( =- ~1 'c 1 her ·'s :1 billiard t::tble; people are r:1 ther mer:

-~ - ·--~ -- -'14.~hi~;~~ . g~~ a little drunk and tell indecent stories; b~;

6

42 JOURNEY WITI-IOUT MAPS

not if there's :1 won1Jtl present. I h;1d never foun-d rnysclf in a place which was more protective to v.·omen; it might have been inhabited by rowing Blues with Buchman con­sciences and secret troubles. Everyone either had a wife at Hill Station and drank a bit and bought chocolates at

. the week-end and showed photographs of their children ; at home: 1

("I'm afraid I don't care much for children." . . I · "0, you'd like mine.") or else they had wives in England, had only two r

. drinks, because the(d pr?mised their wives to be tem­perate, and pbyed Kuhn-Kan for very small stakes. They played golf and b2.thed at Lbmley Beach. There wasn't i

a cinema that a white man could go to, and books of I course rotted in the dan1p or developed \vorms. You de- I ~loped worms too yourself, after you'd been out a little ·

cime; it \Vas inevitable; nobody seetn~d to mind. Free­town, they told you, was the healthiest place on the

1 Coast. The day I left a young man in the education:1l l dcparttnent died of yellow fever. ~ . . I It was the only case and so· thi:re was no quarantine; · 1 only strained nerves among the bungalows. One infect~d I mosauito can do a lot of dam;tP'~ ~ it can wipe out a I .. . u ,

1 Bridge four in a few days as it did one year in Monrovia. Bathurst was still in quarantine, and these epidemics were liable to travel down the coast. There had been .five deaths at Bathurst; it doesn't sound much on paper, but when one remembers that the white residents numbered rather less than the first-class passengers in a mJ.il-bo~t, five deaths seem a little rnore important. Everybody

f knew everybody who h::1d died; the women were sent 1 home; no boat would take passengers off; no tourists

l ~a-~~ed. ~~~~j-~~t l~d to w_ai~~~~~-~ _:tr_ip _o~_J?ea~ a-~~

TI-lE H01viE FROM Fi0l\1E 43

sec whether they were going to die too. I fdt :1 family interest in yellow fever. l\iy grandfather had died of it ,

I in St. Kitts; an uncle had survived it in Brazil. When my ' · uncle first went out to Santos as a boy in business he l found the harbour packed with ships which couldn't sail j ~

1· because their crews were dead. It's 2 quick disease; one ~ is usually dead withi~ t\venty-fo~r hours.~ ~ J

j W onns and mabna, even without yellow fever, ar1· J

j enough to cloud life in 'the healthiest place along the l j coast.' These men in the City bar, prospectors, shippin& : ~ agents, rne:chants, engineers, had to reproduce EnglisH j conditions if they were to bC: hJppy at' all. They weren't . ' the reJl rulers; they were stmply out to make money; l and there wJs no hypocrisy in their attitude towards 'the i I bloody blacks.' The reJl rulers came out for a few years, :

I had a long leave every eighteen months, gave garden 1

parti · s, \vere supposed to be there for the good of the j ruled. It '\\'JS these 1nen who had so much to answer for: ·

the '\-vages, for example, of the plate-layers on the little narrow-gauge line which runs up to Pcndcn1hu ncar the French and Liberian borders. These men were paid six­pence a day and h::1d to buy their own food, and yet they \Vere decked one day's PJY a n1onth. This v.ras perh2ps the me~.nest economy among the m~ny mean economies . which h lvc assisted Sierra Leone through the depres­sion, a depression caused by the fall ia the price of palm oil and palrn kernels, the preference Levers have shown lately for \vhalc oil. The economics h::n·e nearly all been at the expense of the coloured n1,an; goverrunent staffs have been reduced by a clerk here and a messenger there. Until the visit of Lord Plymouth, th~ U nder-Sccretary of i ~t.l!t•, who arrived in Freetown on the day that I did, :· rh.: rc h:1J been only one sanitary insp~~-~~~-fo~ the ~~ol~ ~

JOURNEY \VITHOUT MAPS

olony and protectorate. Badgered by the central au­hority, constantly moved from a district which he was ttcmpting to clean up, he would apply in vain for as­ist::tnts. Forced labour is illegal in a British Colony, but he sanitary inspector without a staff had to choose be­ween breaking the la\v or leaving villages as dirty as he onnd then1. ·

One could exonerate the men in the bar; they v;ere not • ty of these meannesses; they were on! y guilty of the

habbin~ss of Freetown, the tin roofs and the Poppy Day ost~rs. Santayana, with the romanticism of a £oreign

Anglophil , hls \Vritten that "what governs the Eng1ish­ffi3n is his inner atmosphere, the ~·eather in his soul." ".fhe inner atmosphere, he expbins, "when compelled to condense into words may precipitate some curt maxin1 or ov r-simple theory as a sort of \var-cry; but its puerile la:.. age does it injustice, beca~se it broods at a n1uch deeper level than h nguJ.ge or even thought. It is a mass of dur..1b instincts and . allegiances, the love of a certain quality of life," and in a finely chosen if rorpantic meta­phor, he describes how "it fights und~r its tfivial flutter­ing opinions like a smoking battleship under its flags and signals." So to be fair to these men one must recognise a - p. r~·-n r, .~· . . · .- 1 · ~ - ..l _c. --~ .. -; ...... :~.,..,...,. : ... t-hp rl 1<:t 'lnrl ~.._r dl.l TIOCllly, a .h.Uiu u.1. l'au .. vu.:~.~ ................... '"" ~U •. ~ ~--·-

anglicanism and the closing hours; this is their <corner of a foreign field,' just as much as the flowers and cafes and the neat tarts of Dakar are .the Frenchmen's corner. If you are English, they would argue, you will feel at home here; if you don't like it you are not English. If one must condemn, one should condemn not the ·out­posts but the headquarters of Empire, the country which has given them only this: a feeling for respect::tbility ~nll a sense of fairness withering in the heat.

SIERRA LEONE

Historical, Social and Political Background

6

1. Historical: Portuguese sailors gave Sierra Leone its name. They called it "Serra Lyoa," or lion mountain, thinking its high mountains, rising abruptly from the surrounding plain, looked like wild lions. The Goverrunent is now examining how to change the name to make it more African sounding.

2. From the beginning of the 17th century, English trading ships put in regularly at the deep, natural harbor at what is now Freetown. They bought slaves, ivory, iron and other goods. As trade increased, the English Monarch in 1672 established the Royal African Company . (later the Sierra Leone Company) to handle all trade. During the American Revolutionary War, the British offered slaves freedom if they would leave their American masters. Many slaves came to London and, later, with help from Granville Sharp, leader of the anti-slavery movement, /settled in Sierra Leone. They negotiated a treaty with a leader to the Temne tribe, King Tom, and on August 22, 1788 the first colony of ex-slaves was formally established.

3. After · the abolition of slavery in the British empire in 1807, Freetown became a · haven for "recaptives." British naval ships would prowl the west African coast, capture slave ships and bring them before a court for trial in Freetown. The slaves were freed and most s t~ed in the Freetm~ area. Ships _arrived filled with people from different parts of West Africa. Population and pluralism flourished and the roots of f uture social tension were ~ecurely planted.

4. On January lJ 1808, Freetown officially became a British Crown Colony. In 1895 the British and French goverrunents signed an agreement which fixed Sierra Leone 1 s present frontier--partly at the expense of Liberia. The lines were drawn in geographical, not political, terms--following lines of latitude and river watersheds rather than chiefdom houndaries. Some chiefdoms were divided into British and French parts. The chiefs and people were not consul ted, but -vwre told what had been formulated in Europe. On August 31, 1896 a British Protectorate -vras proclaimed over all the territory on the British side of the French and Liberian frontiers. Outside the Freetown colony, the British maintained traditional rule by tribal chiefs (whose titles were changed to "Paramount Chief. II) Five districts were established in the Protectorate, each under a European District Commissioner. On April 27, 1961 Sierra Leone officially became independent of Britain. In March 1971, President Siaka Stevens established ? republic.

·s. Social: Sailing into the Freetown ·harbor-more than 30 years ago, Author Graham Greene remarked: "There is no doubt at all that one is back in home waters... England planted this town, the tin shacks and the Remembrance Day posters, and then withdrew up the hillside to smart bungalows. 11

(see Tab F iii). Physically, not much has changed since then. Freetown remains a rather quaint-looking British colonial city with streets named Walpole and Oxford, civil servants with hyphenated surnames (Taylor-Lewis, Coleridge-Taylor, etc.) and politicians who punctuate their speech with such expressions as "jolly", 11 bully" and "palaver".

r • c

-2-

6. The "quaintness ", however, conceals a very real social problem. The Creoles of Freetm~, descendants of former slaves, have always aimed at attaining a European way of life. They were Christians; they wore

~~

European clothes; they lived in European-style houses. Tod~ they remain a breed apart--an educated, relatively well-off minority that dominates key civil servant posts and tends' to look dawn on the people from "up country". The two largest tribes--the Mendes of the south and th~ Temnes of the north central area--each numbered more than 600,000 in 1963. ~t tne next largest tribes, the Limbas and the Konos, comprised only about 200,000 and 100,000 respectively. The remaining quarter of Sierra Leone's two million or so people was divided among no less than 12 other indigenous tribes. This diversity, aggravated by the presence of westernized black settlers, has created some of the deepest social rifts in Sierra Leone, making the quest for national cohesion extremely difficult.

1. Another tribal disparity, though less striking, is politically significant. TI1is is the difference in both rates and type of development between the northern and southern parts of the country, between Temnes and 1v1endes. Until the openlng of the Marampa iron mine and the discovery of gold in the 1930 1 s, almost all economic activity had been concentrated in the south. Most agricultural products c~1e from Mendeland--a tendency encouraged by blimatic conditions as well as by the railways and river ports. Trading toWns, in consequence, developed in the southern provinces. Educational opportunities also were best in the south. This further widened the gap between the two larges tribes.

8. Lassa fever: An epidemic of LasEafever has recently broken out in the. Panguma-Tongo are a of Sierra Leone (east-central). This disease 'was first recognized in Nigeria in 1969. ~bsequently epidemics occurred in Jos, Nigeria i~ 197a (28 cases) and Zorzor, Liberia in 1972 (11 cases). Symptoms are fever of 100 degrees or higher for seven consecutive days (or more), abnormal bleeding, diarrhea, abdominal or chest pain, deafness developing during the illness~ puffiness of the face or neck, death at any point on ·or after the lOth d~ of illness. At the instigation of a Peace Corps doctor in Freetown, a six-man team from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta visited the Panguma area in October/November 1972, attempting to find the source of the disease and possible antidotes. Unlike previous epidemics this is not a hospital related outbreak; most individuals are infected in the community at ~arge, probably from other persons excreting virus, rather than from an animal host. The actual mode of transmission (i.e. respiratory, urine, etc.) is not clear, but closeness of human-human contact appears to be important. A lab technician working with blocd samples taken in Nigeria caught the disease and died. One member of the Atlanta team also fell victim, but was saved through injections of blood plasma from an individual who had recovered_ from the disease in Sierra Leone. All Peace Corps volunteers have been ordered -out ·of the·Panguma area. We have made contact with the Ministry of Health and with the Center _for Disease Control in Atlanta and intend to watch developments closely.

-3-

9. Political: Social differences, although manifested in many w~s~ tend to come to a head in the political arena. They explain Sierra Leone's tumultugus political history. In order to understand the present situation, it is necessary to go back to the time of independence when the first Prime Minister, Sir Milton Ma~gai, put together a coalition of Creoles and Mendes under the umbrella of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) and won the first general election in 1962. But even before the election, a younger, more impatient group of "modernizers" within the SLPP were agitating for a more broadly based party organization. They complained that "common people" were ignored and that the north, specifically the Temne tribe, was not adequately represented in the party hierarchy. They advocated "non-alignment" in foreign policy and development of an educational system that would "reflect. the African personality and way of life 11 • These dissidents were led mainly ··by northerners-- among them, Siaka Stevens (Limb a tribe, trade unionist, commoner) and C.A. Kamara-T~lor (Limba, clerk and 1

transport owner, commoner). Eventually they broke with the SLPP and formed f(:

the All People's Congress (APC) Party. ~ ./'

#

10. In the general elections of 1967, the APC won the majority of seats f in the House of Representatives. However, a military coup robbed the par~ of vict9ry. Siaka Stevens went into exile, dividing his time between London and Conak~, where he laid the foundations of the friendship with Guinean President Toure, which has assumed more importance in domestic politics since. They army itself was racked by dissension; changes occurred in the leadership before a group of junior officers with tribal affiliations to Stevens brought him back to power following the coup of April 1968. Since then, however, his position has been anything but secure and he has found himself increasingly squeezed between poli tical opponents outside his party and those Within its rrnks who -w·ant to see their position COJ?.SOlidated by more radical and authoritarian methods. A leader of this latter faction is t he Vice-President, S.I. Koroma (Ternne, transport o~er, commoner).

\ 11. The elections menti.oned :1 n the CPN; t.hen ~ched,_,_J.ed for lAte 1972, have now. been postponed until next summer. However, so far a date has yet not been definately set. It is being speculated in Freetoym that President Siaka Stevens may not go ahead with pational elections - and possibly· introduce a one-party state •

.......

Western Africa Region Division lB December 28, 1972 /

!

-·---- ------

THE vJORJ-~ D HARKET OUTLOOK FOR DIAliONDS

...

Chao . D . 1~yte Comma ity and Export Projections

Divic·ion Economic Analysis and Projections

Department

November 30, J972

I 4

TABLE OF CO.J'IS~·lTS

§Th~ma~; and Conclusions

Introd1.1c tion

Production

Revie\: Countries

Derrnnd and.Prices

Outlook

TABLES

Table 1: \-;or·ld Production of Diamo .. d by Country

Ta:;le 3: Central Sell:i..ng Organization (CSO) Diamond ales

. •·

Page Po.

i .

1

4

4

6

7

Sun."nc.r;

1. The ma:i.1 markets for diamond ar gen ~tone and industrial. Both

markets havo been affected generally by the recent economic depresaion which

began 1ri th the US in early 1970 nd expanded to the E.'urope' n and Japanese

markets. Horld output of gem and industrial diamonos dec eased about 1.0

percent in 1971 frora tho previous ye3.r. Value (export) also dec rea ed in

1 971 fro:n the pre ious year. This docrea.:e haq been attrib:..tted not only

to the fall in output of gc~n dinmo·1 (abo 1t 4%) ut also to decline in the

quality· of the diamond n~ines.

2. Angol3, Sierra Leone, Zaire aud tho Republic of So th Africa

continue to be tho lar~est produc crs of gem diamond, synthetic cliamond

is produced .ainlJ in the USA, US"R and the Republic of South Afri a an

Sell~nc Org:tniz~tion (CSO) controlling about 80 pcrc~nt.., both gem and in-

dustrial. . ,..

3. Diamond sales in 1971 in'J.ica te reco ~e ry _.,rom the vconomic slU."!lJ

in 1970. D::lm3nd is expected -t.o inc.rea5t~ ~-!it!'"! ir~pro·; e d e~ono nic. condi tJ..ons

and levels of inco:"'le of the US and ot. .dJ~ .:.ncust 'i2lizsr1 countries

tute mate .Lals pose ve1 y li ttlc thro.::d; to dia;;ond.. It is expected that

p~oduct.ion ¥/ill grm1 at a ra-te of f::-o·11 2.5 to 3.5 p0rc ~nt per year,. Pric~s

will inc:r-nqse at an a erage rate f fro .. , S - 6 pe ... cent per year.

A VIE\1 0? TH~~ Zt~. ~·2T A.ID 7:-IS OUT:.'\)~ i01 DI ~~:r1--~) -----~--------

Tl1c Harkcts .fo:-: Di~.r.iond

1. The tHo markets for clia~, ond are gem st.oG.es and ind'.lstr1a1. The

dasiQlntio. of gem ~tonas refer to tre qualities - beau~y, durability and

rarity - appropriate for perso:J.3.l ador:-1~8 t. D1arnond is the most impor-

tant gem stoneG.Y' LTld.ustrial diamond is dicu11ond whic! because of color,

~tr-Jctural defects, size or shape does not meet. requirerae ts for gem ston~s

and is, therefore, SU.· ta le only for industrial USC"' SiJ.Ch as cutting, gri!'ld-

ing, drlJli:ng, "t-Jire drc:n.;ing and abrasive lappine. Diamond is far har·~ er

than a 1y other· natural or artificiE'll :tbrasive nPterial and is, therefor ~,

ess-~ntia1 for so::ne us s (particularly auJc.or;tated cutting and grinding pro-

ccss cs ) and Mnch noro ef icient tha!l o~ .. er abrasive..,y for mcmy others.

2. Both n~~rkets are affec c'"'d gencrall..Y by econo:ni~ concL"l tions. The

recent (lo•...m.t.ren in husinr- ss activit i ~-:~ 1 hi.ch br>t: =; n -..;i.th the U ~ S ~

· 970 and expanc. ed to the Japancs c:1 and .GU.ropcan t'lrkc ts has caused an ov ·l.''~

c:.ll decrease i1 the output and v:1lue of cllcuno.ad .LD-blcs l ana 2). Horld

in out1. ut of industri31 dinmo::.1c s ia 1 971 ove_ .. 1970,, out: ut of gem d c:oascd

about 4.0 percent frc~r.1 13.3 to 12 7 n.illion carats durinG the period (19'?0-

1971). · usi.:.'1~ e~.:ports (value) in lc:.co of dem<:111d -, ta, sin.ce the 1, ttar is

un vailable, tvtil val e decr-·ased 2.}.1;:ost 16 perc~nt, from I:-930. 0 in l969

·Lo b783 11illion in 1970 ..

Ot1v~r R"em pearls, e1.c.

lalue of cL: ilO!ld3 in 1 971 1-mru esti. .:1ted to bs

Includes: industrial cli2::.o:1d, c .cry, n~turJ.l coru.r.d,~l, gcU"~et, ~ -· ..: ·- ~ "I .! - ~- -I.• .1. J.. ~.J v .L..J.. J c v '-' ..

Cov::_:~~.y·

Afr:L,~a

AnGola B1)·::,s~:an3.

C )!l~~ral African nepublic

Gll<lna ou:~nca

I,rory Coa st Lnt:;otho l::'.be.ria s:.~nTa I!-'lone South Africa

!.'r ~'Pb] ·i r o-F'J/ .J,\;,o....,_'J,..).., .. .A..V .}-......,..

wuut~<·.Jcst Africa T.:.nzania Z.:ire~/

OthE·!· Areas: Bl'c. z,:Ll G1yann Ir ci a Ir c: ono.sia rJ~ r R VE r. e7.ucla

Table 1: v

v:oRLD PRODUC.TI CN OF DIA110ND BY COUNTRr-

(Thousand carats)

1969 1970 19713. ~G-~,-m---1-_:r-.d-r-.,-.J.strial Tot.'ll Gc.:m Industrial Total Gem Industriai · 1l'otsl

1,516 n.a.

348 239 ..

22 81 5

562 736

3,612 1,923

39)-! 1,802

50o n.a.

187 ~ 2 152

.?

50 121

25 184

1,253

4,251 - ·JJ. }8}

11,621

- '

2,022 n.a.

535 2,391

72 202

30 746

1,989

·7,863 2,021-~.

7?7 13 . .'423 .

J

1,797 54

313 255 ·22 85 h

577 72J

.3,758 1,772

359 1,649

599 49.0

169 2,295

52 123 13

235 1,232

h,354 93

349 12,438

2,396 544

482 2,550

74 213 17

812 1,955

8,112 1,865

708 Jl~,087

1,625 87

30h 256

22 88 1

525 715

3,100 l,Boo

h04 1,700

5L2 785

163 2,3o6

52 132

6 214

1,220

3,931 100 404

12,000

2~167 872

L+67 ? c:6,? _,_.,., <-

71;. ~~20

7 7J9

1 ("',3'"' ,1 .?

7,031 1,900 ·son

13,700

160 160 320 160 160 320 160 160 320 21 .31 52 23 37 61 19 ~29 Li8 10 2 12 17 3 20 16 3 19 _4 6 ,- 2 0 11! 6 2 0 14 6 2 0

1,5oo 6,ooo 7,s·oo 1,6oo 6,25o 7 ,85o 1,8oo 7 ,ooo 8,8oo ll8 76 194 129 371 500 130 370 - 500

vlOrtiD ~,arAL 1.3,063 31,109 40 2 172 :Gll:2 29,27h 42,586 12,766 29,1..J23 42 .. 189

n.ap : not available · 1/ Tot~1l (g •J:n pl~ 1. s industrial) dinmo~d p1·oduction of eac:h co~""ltr>J includes actually reported and/or estimated

-;2:/ Frel:i_minnrf 3/ Includes Transvaal, Ce.pe Pro·Jinco, Or<:mgo Frco ~tate 4/ Fo!;ne:tly Congo-Kinshc'tsa

Sour::::e: US Dept~ of I:ntorior, Bu.ro3.u of !'i".inos 11.:'.J1Gral Y~" .... book, 1971 ..

f\)

. I

Tabla 2:

(Dc~lared value, all typos, in millions of J_, sterli .... g)

EXPORTDIG COUNTRr--s 1969 1970

United K:tngdc:n 328.1! 252.1

Be gium . 191.1 180.6

South Africa 129.9 102 .. 5

Israel 90 0 84.2

U.S A. 6o.8 49.2

Angola 26.7 33.9

Sierra Leone 27el 16.0

India ll.h 15.?

15.2 lh.6

Tanzania 10 4 9.4

renozueJ a 3 6 ... 1.5

Contral African R~p. h I) ........... n.a •

:France 5 9 5.6

Fed. Republic of Germ.:1t"~.y 6.5 4.9

Ghana 5 7 4.2

China h.O n.a.

3. 7' 2.b

TOrJ.,.L ;/2 9 * (. 8~~. 8 -·--------·------·---1/ Offici2l e:·~port vs.:!y~;c .fo'"' ::- t::' -~<1ls fro:-:! USSH, South \·J'est Africa,

BraZ'ZC~,~·:~ .. lle} ~~ ...... t; ,.4J.#~ r~e · =-~epub.._lC of Ir{jlaJl(: 310 l10t . \·c:ilable. Cotmtrics Hith e:"port2 of less than L2 (s ter_ing ) millior per annt.':-!1 arc not incl'l,ded.

Source: Hining Ann ,al Revi<:n·,, Hining Journc:l Lo1:don, June 1972.

- 4 -

do m from tho previous y "r

to the fall in output of gem diamond., u · also to decline in the qt ~lit

of dia11ond.s (gem cu'1d industria.l) :mined ..

Prod ct.im

3. World pr duction of dia.rnonds in 1971 Y-ras about 90 million -..a rats of

which a little Olfer half ,.;as synthetic. African countries con~in· ed to p:'o-

due e most of the rro.rld 1 s natural indus rial di.s...rnon s. Aneola, Sie.,...ra Le ne,

Zaire and Republic of Sout~ Africa are the largest producers · of ge:n dianlo:'li..

Sierra IJeo;-le and South Africa produce the largest and highest grade3 of ge.:-1

dianonds.

4. Synthct · c d~n..s:onds p:.--o:lucnd are up to 0.003 ca ... at. Hore than h~~

the ~ orld t s production of dic.mO}ldS are synthesj .:)Cd die~nonds; prodl:c ed r.l:.ti:'lly

in the USA, USS!1, the Republic of South _Srica and the Repablic of I:::-e1an::3.e

All synthesised dic:L'7!onds arc used for in cu. tr · :).1 p'lrpo3es.

5. An;@:;_:. Production rose to a record high of 2. 4 r.ullion ca::.·qts in ' .

of ecm qu lity- stones t·Jas smal1. .... r th.3.n t!1e prc·.ri o::.s ;;'" 3.r, tl e va1·,1e of ou-p·J.t

d 1. -I' ) •• ec l!1ec u) percenr:..

1970 over the previO'J. s rear. The exclusive di :nond prospecting rigl1t8

and De B2~rs Consolid_atcd Hinc .... Li:ni ted of the :r:epublic of So:1th : fri(;<1.) :._:1

1971, H'i-il give not onJ.y impetps (io die\.r:10nd producLion dUt provide . ne

An.gol:ln Go~rerril'J.8:1t ui th i ZCctblq fin.e.nci2.l eain.

6.

c::un~ into full scale oporatioa · t t!;e beginning of july 1971. D-..tri.r:.g 1970

)LIJ.+ t.nou~::.-~a c.ara-cs Here pro~acce1 ana t.~le 1.7 r .1. oa"L.put "t.;a~ ....... ct a-c f c. t~ c~ s~~ --:.·1

carats.

- 5 -

trial grade stones Ql

The 1970 productio.:.t -;as recorded at 2. 56 million car2.t.s,

a 5.5 percent increase over 1969 production of 2. 29 millio:y cara+ s. Co:1...,o:!..i-

d3.ted African ~election Tr-ust (CAST) is the main p::-oducer uhile the gov-sm-

ment controlled Diamond Harketinr Corp. is the sole legal purchaser of di3.-

mon::i in Ghana.

8. Ccntrq,l lurican ~enu1:_,lic (CA?..): Tho y ar 971 m:trked the third C0:1-~

secutive year of decreased diamond production, down to 467,000 C3.rats va..uied

at about. *l2e6 nlillio. (Table 1). The diamond industry in recent years :_as

produced about So percent of CAR's export revenue and t 1c Governr:1er-1t has

associated itself uith a progra..rn to e_c:p2.nd p!'od~.:ct · o.1 and exer ise control

over the narket for diamond

,.... 7• S j_ er-rci T..,e one : SEE ATTACHED ADDENDUH

10.

ove:L. 19t9 but de.clined in 1971 (Table 1) .. The man productioG ls .:r0t'. ~e

Beers gro'J.p of Ti inGs. '1he Cent.·al Sel1'ng Orgun.2.zation (CSO) o:: t~.e De

Beers ~roup cuu ounced half-year sales of c ~~ 11 and irclust:r ial dic-~nm1ds f0r

af::'ect ,d by tl e noa.·iji:-16 of South African and U3 currencies. Total sales

..,. ,.., ...... , 071 ---- _ ,_..L- _) ..L - , . ~ (') ~~pv~v~u vu uc ~u

,.. - 0 -

p -· rcent 101-Jt:.r tban the rccorri ~:e.ar Oi. 1969.1/ Dlamo.1d r:.ininE; tax:at io:-1 in

. Sou:...h Africa, taki~ ove1 all nearlJ" 75 percent of the cros:r mining profits,

is higher than th:J.t borne by any other industry in the .l\epublic. This··

high taxation cruld ~-re]~ be the cause of pr duction decreaseo

11. South Hest Produ c ion currently is entirely from alluvial

deposits on land \1here there exist larce reserves but production costs arc

high. Production decli:1ed from 2,024 thousand carats in 1969 to 1,865 in

1970, but increased slightly in 1971 to 1,900 thousand carats. Sea mitring

of dia-monds took place in 1970, bi..l"'v H::1.S discoatinued for econo~J.c reasons.

12 ~~~ Zaire: P 1 oduc tion dec ... eased from 11-t.. 0 milli orr carats in 1970 to

13.7 millioa in 1971. Zaire is believed to he.v ·~ the Hor·l:.l 1 s largest reserves

of diar:tond and.t al ~·ho".lgh it is the Horld' s largest producer by Heicht, the

bulk of its production· is sm3.ll sto.1cs of lou q·~1.'liity- s:.:itable for crushing.

Ilc8D.!1d and P r lees

13. Virtually all gem d..ianond is used for deGord.tive- p lrposes in j i:clry,

art objects and for cx.l ihit in collec:ti.o:l:J. LO'J qu¢~li ty cem dia..TTI.ond is Uf.18d ....

for in us trial purpoJes .. The ralue o~ the; gem sto:1e usug]J_y is det..,rm:Lned

by d3mand and b:r its beaut;r, d, rabilit"'r, rarity-' i'rcedo:-a fro:"l defect~": and

perfection of. cuttirige

Limited pl.:1ys a- determining role in t1E! pl"'ice of r:en dia11o:.d. The. De Bc2rs

for gem c:lia:r-.on~.J .. Ace or ding to ·-.he USDI, Bure? u of !·~inc5,? I renresentat..i ve - ..

p:rice ranges in J.971 for fir_,t qu-1it:} c'.-t-:, and polishc , umaounced gcn dia.1ond

~----- -~.~ ---lf U.s .. D~part.nr:::~·:., of ti1G ~nJvcrior, ::>u'c2U of l·:ines, lane "al Yearbook,

1971.

?I See: ~ob2rt G. Clarl'; G-.?r1. .Si-.0:~~:::, li~~-D .. Io .,_ , ~ I . . - .

icC..uvv~\. \J?rcprJ.nv .rrc?:l ..L)l(..L) p. j.

- 7 -

~rere 0.25 carat, $100 to $450; 0.5 carat, $250 to ~)30, 1 carat, $650 ...... . L>O

$3,000; 2 cara s $2,000 to $10,000; and 3 cc.rat .... , ~3-JOOO to $1B,OCO.

median price for eac1 range ;.ras 0 .. 2.5 carat, $210. 0.5 carat, $525; 1 cc.rat,

$1,600; 2 carats, $4,500; and J carats, ~8,700.

14 . , The princjp3l sec fo~ industrial dia;nond stones are in drillinr.

bits and reaming shell q, sii1gl e - or mul +.iple - point diamond tools, diar.1ond

saws, and diamond Hire d.i. arr:;ng dies .. ~1 Demc}nd for industrial dial. ond r epenci

to a large exter t. on fir..al dei.nand for sue 1 inA· stri.sl products as tr2n:::por-

tat on equipment, electl~ical nquipment and su. plies, const:7tlction (of buil-

dings, high\·rays, otc.), mineral cervices, 3,)1'2-~i ve products, etc. 197C pl~icc-s

for industrial die. .:onus ranced from about $L p e r ca .. ~o:"lt for nall size to

about $50 per cara~ fo~ fi ·st quality die 2/

""tones.-

Outlook

l c . _,.

in recover.:.n.g frCin tho roc.ont uconciuic de:rn·cssio •. , the .tan1ond m<.:H'ke:,s are .. \WJ~ on th .:ir ·r.-.·ay to rocovery.. Diamond sal ·~ ficu--r.s (Table 3)

---- -- ----·--------'rable 3 • CE:'UTRAL SELL21!G Oi~.GAl i i~ ATIC:.! ( CSO) Dill. ~C;D SnLES .l/

(02:·1 .~ · .. liD JJ i DU~·l-~11 ·\.-.J )

Y.ar Sales in 1 Sterlin~ ---· 1)65 lh8,316,9hl 1966 77~8i 5) ?J 1967 178,763,76~ 19GB 250,12? ,10? 19o'9 rygo ~~~ 0t~ , - t_ L•,/..;..-,r ./ 1

r..' ) ?2C '7\ .... c· 1.)1 t U - } ' 1 !~) ':;) .:.l.j.

1~?1 2S6 009 873 -----·----~·-~·--~-~---- -------- ------__ .} _:.:::...:'...) ___________ _ 1/ About 85% of tha \·:Ol~ld' s dinmonds, both ge\: and. industrial, c~ro n::. rko-~ed

by De Beer's (CS ).

Facts and Pr ~le~s,

2/

- 8 -

for 1971 h,~ ve alroady pointed to rec o cry fro:. the ~ltlL'l. of 19'i0 ,·1· sr. 1;or]_d

sal0s fai.lcd to regi <:tor an :incre:::.se en the preceding year for he fj "St .

t:tme in 10 years. DJcroase in 1970 sales was 23 porcen · fror.1 the preceding

year. Prices 'hTere increased .~electi' ely from Novcr:1bor 1, 1971, by an ave ... -

age of S percent. Because of the virtual monopoly on diamond sales tr 1·ough

the CSO an increase in sales docs not necessari~v reflect an increase in

demand for diamonds. Hoircvers this early and contii'1ued recovery throu0 h 1972

't· 11 definitely be related to economic recovery, particularly in the United

States.

16. \vorld pr duction of natural diamonds (gem and industrial) are ex-

pected to increase at about 2.5 to 3.5 percent rr;r year.

17. Although reser 'CS of sm~:e of the higher quality gem diamonds ap?e:;;.r

to ha 'G been dopletcd in the past few yearc, there have been no indicatiol.s

that. na'tural industl j_al qualities rill be in short supply in the foreseeable

future.

18. Sov eral factors have tcndPd in the I ... :.:it to r stric·..:. product) on ...

in se erul co,Jntries ·rhilc, on the cthnr hand~ ne.' ol opr~e~1ts poi;-1t +.o

s1gnificant incre~ses over t.c ne:~ se'cral yc~ru. Those factors r stri-

ting pror!uc.tion inay eo regardec... & "' follo;w:

(a) 0.'1e or tuo coun"".rie:~ (ma ·i .uly the Rep1, bl:i.c of South

productio.L'l. due to the -~~'lcr£_ s)_ng c~ anti ties o!

matArials 'that hnvr.. to be handl( d to recover t~e

equivalent 3:110U11i..S of m.amoiJ.d.

(b) Hig 1 e::.port duty · Sierra Loor1c La ~ c 4courn '"!ed

illi.ci t trr de urj_c 1 as caus6d cessation of pros-

ptj<Jv...Lll.~ (l77i} ior 1ear of revealing no1v areas

to illicit mi:r.~.ers.

- 9 -

(c) High ta .. G:t.jon no".v being borne by miners in the

Republic of S~uth Africa have adversely affected

production.

(d) There has been a tem)orary surplus since 1971 and

it is thought that some countrios, particularly

Zaire, is holding do~n production for the present. " ~ ·-

(e) CSO is belie~ed to ha e a sizeable stock an

throueh its monopoly· posi ticn cCJn control ~upply.

(f) So:ne cour1tries outside CSO, liko Ghana and Liberj_a,

have e:xperier!ced diff-: C' lty· in :Jrketing their

diamonds dPBpite t.1eir quoted pricos belo~ \· .. rld

prices.

19. S ·ex·al .~.mi dev.lcpmcntB 't·:hi L. ar-9·l:i.:n.ly to offuot t."1e above

restrictions on production and ca~1se s:.~.t:~abJ e i:r:cre3ses a1·e:

(a) New concessjcns for £ro~ter exrl~ration in ALgola,

el.) w!wr . ·-::.1.1. :incr·eo. ... ,c total prr .... Llu.c ti on ..

countries as f;anad'l, S:ntdi i'\.rabia, Sp3jn, Indio.,

lndcnesia 2nd z~irc.

(c) Rocovc ~ J~ro:J e tabl:L--t:d r'. 'due: Hg C'CHJJ1 rJ.cs hould

:· s intro uc -d.

20. Demand for ger1 diam0nd is o~·-pr:.>cted to iLcre· sc r:i tl i .proved ecoLCd1ic

t-he U.s. and other incJustriaJ.:i.zcd col:~1:.""'ic:; ..

0 -

21. Although ~u stit te llate.i=:l.-. such a::.; silicon C::l"'b'ae, >ate!

ni trido and baron c2rbldo have been proposed as rivals to dia .!ond, it

is highly unl · kel.r that they can mc:.ko any large ..; lU''"'ads int,o the dia;;;c;-td' s

market.. The biggest threat to natural diamond prod 1c rs co:ne rather from

synthesised diamond producers. S)'Tlthe .i.e diamonds have sor;w advantages -

th .y can be p:-oduced to spccificat.io:.:. and for certain applications ar · more

unifon!l and !!en co more re1 i~b o - but producing sy:n Letic diamond ov e::· a

cert..:'lin size becomes oxcessi ve ( costl.,r 1 , ru .. d 1\t ore :i.ndustri2l diamond stones

aro 1equired only nat1 ral diamond is suit.so1e.

22. Damand for in 1.1 stl .:.al diai .. o~::s \dJ 1 "Ontinue at tho re~t::nt rate

of c. bo-1t 6 percent 1A3r yc::r as industrinl de •. nn s ere ate nm-1 u ··es for it,

particu1a~ly in tho e1 ectronics inc~ust~·j e3.

. ..

lf'1E~:~t..TIC'\~L r1c:- ·t:Lo;:.H::>.r 1 t:-.:::.~.::.~T IO' .. /' G ... ···~ FOR .l.:5S1 CJ ?.T!C.' R cu~s:·::;:.;c..T!"."~ 1.:\-__ ..,·tV'€ CP' 1[' T

A TJD~~··. 1): ,J:l

'r:Tr: ~~ .. : ~~~- ~ ::-::· .. ~- -­cs-· ·~oRI"\-f::

TO: ~·:r. ~.bai

FRO M : Charl::s Hh;yt.e

SUBJECT:

. Sierra Leone:

Productio of dia ,.onds in Sierra Leone dec1:ined from 1,989 t:-:.cus::::~~ carats in 1969 ta 1,93.5 thou.s?..n c~'r~~ts jn 1971, or 1.5 pe:;:~cent per ys ::. -:.' . _,~­pressed ec.ono:;!_· c condi ticns in t1 .e p2 st 2 years h~n·e r esulted 1 .,!'gel)~ :.:-o~r. :::e decline in sale of diarnondE' ~,tlich account for over 60 :p~!."'c£>n~ o: the C:Olli'Y'c .. :-y ' s tot"'l expor+ e ..... ' '!1l. '1f'S ~l' .. "e _ ..... 0'' .... 1"" 4 l'rn of .~-h::) rP·-1~- l· on""l DJ'"~"'r"'1d Con(' ~,,, ~ ...... "")\ ~ - _ W ~..l ... J. ~L. • 1 1 • - .&.l!U'..J ,) . lJ t:; ._\,<.: lJ ..ln. ..:. . -JV.l • .:.,.,~ .;. J .. \ ·""",V

in DJce:.tber, l9?CJ ;ith GoverE-:lent 1 :: acquisition of fifty-one perc e~t o: the op ere.. t.j Oil ( Sie:::-'ra Lsono s-~le.::tion Trust'::; diamond minj Dt3 operation t-;hi -::h h:.s been o~;er& ting fo:r~ the past thi:"ty-six years) cobo'J.ld give groatc:." fir:~::cial bcnsfi ·t.s to tbe GO\'cx·n;1ent .:"or d£.n.:elopment purpoGc~. Diz..:1ond pcn.c hir.g frc:-.1 nci!::~bbou~·jn[i IJibo..:·-J.a and ou:_;:c~i , and s:nuggling ·co thesE- coun'!.,rjes fr o:-n :}.:::-:r:.'2 LAO e cc.1~1ti::JJJC to 3rborsely afi't;,...t not only tho legal dia;.,ond fran"'hi Ee area but also ~ierra I.co!:.e 1 s revenue from diamoi ds.

A )proxi:n:1tely fifty po rcen L of dia:n'Jnds min ad in Sicrr.J Lec:·~o is b:r Di ···1inco; · the rc:n.:1:i.ni~1~ fi_ft :l v~) :::c cnt. is b:/' ind1 'idu.al c: 1:ho h:·: e :c e:-1 1 -gal_y nfr- ~1ch.i~;cd . Lll en:'r3nch:i.:::cd mined d:i.~1monds ar8 'Ul"' Ch2s cd b~\" :.::~ Gc'-.'CT'2Tnenr. D~L&T'iond Office ( GJ ) ) • l~:'.t:'ort.s to p:··cvont t r~20 eli ;n;-onds ~·::-c--:1 bcirg s:l'Jl~~elcd to Libori:i a::~ GuL1'33 h~1V$ not mel:i dth lh.;,rh su~.: ~~::~~. '.='!:e G~·,o ryur,. ha sc ~ 2ll its /u1~'Jo:-.d s f o:::· re s0.lc to t:w Co!'ltral :~ olli Li. O:r s::: .:~?.a ·L:.o:-1 ( • o o") " I · '·" - ., ·.~ · :. : ... ~ 0 c: · r:... ~ • r-., ~- r . ~ •. ; , · .... l d d . ~ ~., ~: ~~ - ··· · ,!.. 1.~0 OJ [_,, ,, J. .J· ·••. - - . l ... ~~..-.J,1v OJ_ 1 JL• ··<Oo.. lc .. , .:1\...< · ·--~'"""" '

[;C)J:Lin:< D! · ~j n y to J.!elL,.t. ... :::, , ...._s.L ....... J_ .. , -~.i-1E." ~ .:-.ce.~. ~~1 Itcpabl:i.c vf. G:~r::-; .:-i;ly ·:.-;_·: ~..:..!€::

U::-lj_ -\ .:~ Sl,Tt::::." P"1.~!.'"ll;l:·;c~; o.f rou.;.:1 ~n.: 1r1cut. cii:J;.u:h!:) ._,·.- G~:O tot0JJ;~·:} ,OJ:!.~C90

c nr.-.t~ ~ .. :!l11;;d 2t ~)30 .3 rd.lJ.::.on -i;1 :!S71, cc:i! ;~rc)c1 ~-;it!l l_/;!tS,875 cz..r~ J·::. --?:-_:::-~ at ~~Jl.l1 :·~i . . Ll.ion in·l91'J. ::;-... 1::::.:-::~ :i.. 97J. ~ :-JJ"~::;:·;,_:r) P- r ::ucc~J .;27 .0 ::,iil::.r::. ·,;o~~~_ :1 o.f d) c.;;:1:Y~".0::: of 1-::1ic.1;hal.::· -.;::.c ~ .. oJ.d ·Lo t!-:.: CSO <:nJ t!12 rc::.;::indc~~ to -L:-::··:~c

An'el·i~r-.n co:-:;p:>.:"l iG.?.

The ·Acqrci.siticm 0.:. a l~.rs<'~.l"' s nrc of -the u:i.B::.,.-.:i· lnJ..nl: J..G o~- _::·r-li:.i,...::, fifty on·:· p::• ::."c ~,rt, co:,1p:11: c ·J i..o f ·->:"t.r~-:] 10 p:.;;::·l:'~ 1 t. undc1" -~:; ~; ol ·i ~-:-es: ·, .:>:-.---., ·.:-::..~1

gi\~; Si·· ~·-r:l Lcc:r~c: .?, l<~l'~;:;l~ :=;};·. r:~ o:' t .. G ..,.rr o~iT:s . Jr" .. D~-:~.\·.ion I;:;ni.~!->; \-·:0.1 p~.y uiG .'i..".~' I ~:o::~ t.~xr:;; C:1 j t~; p:··-:f~~'t. ~lt a l'{!t,(' of r(CJ p(1::. .. cc:nL . The: :--:...; ;A-;,':.:-.::.~:('­

rn:-,:1~, j_p::~~~L~lcj -:_j~'~t 1;·c.:- .. ~J-1(l:s Ino:~8 ;:·Jt·!·~ :itc se:~:lll~it.:~ .. rH:~c.\~J-t.l:- ... ~:.;·-t tt1 s ~'}v-.;(_··=--=---~0!1-L ~=-!

·~!;(:: p:.·dJ}.c:"12~ -~ t:r:·c~~u.·...~.t.:.:~; iJ.tic:i::: :.:ir1::.:.i_'. :;_il vi-:; c1f' ~!..t.s li'ajc?":i.i.:,·· :::..~-:..!~·~·:::·'::=··

Tl1n Gov orru~10nt es-:.j mates th3 t about 1~0, 000 di c;g2rs p ---.:::1 c~'1 C:-'! t!-: 2 fra~1-~ chise area of t~!e ;·nin'ing co:':p:Jny, and, that. pos sibly hOO,OOO thc~u~s~1i ca.:2.ts (lc:: gal 2nd illegal ) 2.re s:.~l.~s~led out of · ht cc-u.ntry c:::.c h Jear. 'f.tG ::ai:~ r2Jso::: for the po3chine cH'G:

Hr. Abdi - 2 -

(j~) the third large~;t rol1c;h die~~:c.,n_,_. in the ¥,i,. t•lc - t e 96cL9 C.ei:·at Hstar of Sir.rro. Lec.ncll - foCJl.i in F0 .... ruary 1971 h2s en---a :'2t:ed greater interest in diamond r:1ining; anr

( ii) Unlike in the mines of southern .iuri{;2 .... T.~.1s.re dia ·10nds are iiil­

bedded in volcanic. rocl:s (kin'borlite) Hhich must be brcke;:.. up by machinery, in Si !l'r3. J.;cone, rOD gh diar;;ond3 are strt:·~"~n a:nong river beds and j_Tl v~lleys that nee 1-:rere :river beds.

T'1e nBin reo.son for sr.ruggling is that Sierr·a Leone imposes a 7 .S percent. 8X})Ol"'t tax on dia:no:1d C0 .. 1p~r d to a 3 cO perC(..!1t export tax iiTIOSed

by Liberia. Theta~ differential together ldth the c~sy access of ~o'ement bet;·mon countries tend to perpt.d:,ua te, if Dot encouraf.e, srmggling.. It v:ou.ld appear t.h1t by lo;.;er lnz tho cxpor v tax, Si .,rra Leone: c culd reduce the rate of cmugt;ling, but ·Hhcther or not total l'e;v enue fro~, diamond export l·muld in­c roa se rc7iJ1 ins a questioH for furt.1cr inVElstig··tion ..

Lib rin:

Depressed Horld dicn;o~1c1 r:nrket co: di tions d·Jring 1970-1971 affected tho JJibm' ·. an r1arket as "o .. ell. Producti 0:1 c1f diamonds de,..li !!ed fro:-:1 B2 6, 000 carats in 1971 to 739,000 carats in 19'?1 (Tabla 1) a decline of 10;;.

Te:.bl(:J 1: Pi~O~)i]G· IO!; C? DI/'J1C~·ID~ (in 10JO carats)

1968 1969 1970 1971 (r.·+i, ._J.-, -~ _:_ ~-:.:_::: _'~ I

Gam 537 562 620 52.5 Indui->tr:Lal 212 184 2D.S ... 214

'1otal 71!9 7L6 626 739

Source:: U0DI, Th:rc~1u of Hines - 1'~r.J ., ·ti_~: ~·:'c. :L Ind c·~.:-- - cf Lib(n~.:: 3, 197·}.

Product.io:n cL1 La inc1,H·c::; :dia:·;J0nd ~~:me;l('O fro:-: ~)j_er·rc-! };-_.cno. 'J.'h~_;_ c· :11 o no av3.i1a1lo data to differcJl't·i'~' ... c thf~ I.~er c.cnt.a.gc o.f n:5I}Cd dia,~or..a .i'rc:·; that of ~-:iu::;gJ.ed diamond.

ti 0:-! H0r'k Cll HC~-: dCpJ3i t i.ol

out nut, ci'~e, }JcpOJ.'t...::.r·ce ;:,nd

s fJ2!'t2 c ·"' t~.r~ :· c.1nt r~r. :: x~_l, or~:­b~~an in l}70 Lut dct~ilf as to

c

Excerpt from Appraisal Report No. PA-104b, dated June 6, 1972

SIERRA LEONE

APPRAISAL OF AN - 6 INTEGRATED AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

i. This report appraises an agricultural project in the Eastern and Southern Provinces of Sierra Leone, for which an . IDA credit· of US$4.3 million equivalent is proP,osed. It would be the first agricultural proje~t under­taken by the Bank Group in Sierra Leone.

ii. Sierra Leone's e·~onomy is based on an export oriented mining sec~or producing about 85% of total exports, of which diamonds contribute about 80%, and a mainly subsistence agricultural sector, producing about 16% of total ·exports and employing about 75% of the population. Diamond reserves are declining, hO'tvever, and the country's future economic prospects depend largely upon the development of the agricultural sector, in which little has been achieved so far mainly because of Government's uncoordinated agricultural policies and weaknesses in public administration. This project is straightforward in concept involving simple and proven technical methods, and its success depends entirely on efficient project management.

iii . The project area comnrises some 1.5 million acres of the Eastern · and Southern Provinces, with a population of about 242,000. The project, which would be carried out over a three year disbursement period, would include: establishing a Project Management Unit within the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MANR); planting 510 acres of oil palm to complete a 2,000 acre estate; providing smallholders with credit for bringing 6,000 acres of inland swamp into rice production, planting 750 acres of cocoa, and planting 1,830 acres of oil palms; constructing a 9 ton/hour palm oil mill and 20 rice mil1s each capable of processing ·SOO tons paddy/annum; training project part~cipants in modern agricultural techniques; preparing an agricultural deveiopment project in the North of the country and a forestry project in the centre of the country; and the establishment of an Agricultural Development Authority (ADA) to own and operate the oil palm nucleus estate and mill, and to take over the management of project credit operations after project dis­bursements of the IDA Credit are completed.

iv. Project costs are estimated at US$5.6 million equivalent. The proposed credit would finance 77% of project costs, covering foreign exchange _costs estimated at US$3.0 million, and 50% of local currency costs. The balance of US$1.3 million would be met from Central Government revenues­US$0.9 million, and subscriptions to ADA 's equity of US$234,000 and US$1 56,000 by the Bank of Sierra Leone and Sierre Leone Produce Marketing Board Tespectively. Project procurement valued at about US$2.0 million would be by international competitive bidding; procurement of other goods and services would be subject to satisfactory local competitive bidding procedures.

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v. The project manager would be responsible to the Permanent Secretary · of ~~R • The project manager, financial controller, credit manager, land planning officer, mill engineer, and plantation manager , would probably be expatriates .

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vi. By full development project produced exports would total: -cocoa 1,230 tons and palm kernels 860 tons annually, and import substitutes: palm oil 4,300 tons, and rice 2,900 tons annually. Net foreign exchange benefits would be substantial, amounting to a value of US$21.8 million over the life of the project. Based on the Bank Economics Department's current long-term cocoa, rice, and palm produce price forecasts, and using a shadow price for hired labor justified because of unemployment, the estimated rate of return from investment in the project is 15%. Costing hired labor at its actual price decreases the rate of return by 2%. The project would increase sub­stantially the incomes of so~~ 2,500 farm families, and create an institution to obtain and provide finance, -planning, and management for agricultural development projects.

vii. The Government recognizes the current weaknesses in public administra-tion and gave assurances during negotiations that a plan for improving the marketing of domestic and imported rice would be prepared, and that suitably qualified and experienced persons would be employed to fill key project posts so as to provide satisfactory management .

viii. The project, .is suitable for an IDA credit of US$4 .3 million to the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

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Excerpt from President's Report No. P-1096, (Proposed Development Credit to S~ra Leone for an Integrated Agricultural Development Project), dated June 8, 1972.

ANNEX III Page 1 of 3 paees

SIERRA LEONE - ·INTF..GRATE-D AGRICULTURAL DEVELOFMENT PROJECT

Borrower:

Amount:

Terms:

Project:

Cost oi' Project:

CREDIT AND PROJECT SUM11ARY

Sierra Leone

US$4.3 million equivalent. The proposed credit would cover the project's estimated foreign exchange component of US$3.0 million and US$1 .3 million of local eXPenditures.

,.. -

Standard IDA terms.

The project would assist Government to implement its agricultural development program by initiating a program of integrated rural development and by strengthening Goverrunent services and institutions. It would include:

establishing a project management unit within the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources; planting 510 acres of oil palm to complete a 2,000 acre estate; · providing smallholders with credit for bringing 6,000 acres of inland swamp into rice production, planting

. 750 acres of coco.a, and planting 1 ,830 acres of oil • palm;

construeting a 9 ton/hour palm oil mill and 20 rice mills each capable of processing 500 tons paddy/annum; training project participants in modern agricultural techniques;

- preparing an agricultural development project in the · north of the countr,y, and a forestry project in the central region; the establishment of an Agricultural Develo~ment Authority --to own and operate the oil palm nucleus estate and mill, and to take over the management of project credit operations after the disbursement of the IDA credit is completed.

(US$ million) Component Local Foreign Total

-----·-- ...... On Farm Costs 0.74 0.35 1~09

Project Administration and Services 1 .39 1.9.S 3.34

Financing:

Estimated Disbursements:

P'i."O cur'emen t Arrar?.E ements :

Smallholder Net Income:

2 acres o.r' . cocoa 3 acres of swamp

rice 10 acres of oil

pCl.lm

Economic Rate of Return:

Establishment of Agri­cultural Development Au:thority

Studies and Consultants

Contingencies ·

Total Project Cost

IDA Credit

Government

. 0.05

0.07

Local

ANNEX III Page 2 of 3 pages

0.05 0.10

0.25 0.32

0.40 o. 75

3.00_ ;?.60

(US$ million) Foreign Total

3.0

Cumulative estimated disbursements at end of fiscal year are as follows :-

1973

0.8

1974

2.8

Goods and services required for the construction and equipr110nt of the palm oil mill and rice mills, vehicles, spraying machines and fertilizers valued at about . US~2.0 million would be p·rocured on the basis of international competition; and other goods and services estimated at US$0.5 million would be procured by local competitive bi~ding, under procedures agreed with the Association .l/

- US$ -'Year 1 Year 5 Year 10 Year 15

50 100 ·- 170

125 135 185 185

110 310 600

--·--- -..:.__ ___ 15%

1/ The Government is no~ party to any preferential tarif~ arraneements.

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Consultants :

ANNEX III Page 3 of 3 pages

(1) To ca~ out preinvestment studies for:

(a)- an integrated agricultural development project, (b) a forestry project;

(2) To undertake a study of the domestic palm oil market;

(3) To assist Government in preparing a plan to improve the marketing and processing of domestic rice, and the marketing of imported rice;

(4) To assist in preparation of' tender documents and e~aluation of bids for oil palm mill and to oversee construction.

Appraisal Report: Report No. PA-104b, June 6, 1972. Agriculture Projects Department.

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Excerpt from Appraisal Report No. PE-9a, dated D.ecember 1, 1969 ..

APPP.AIS.A_L OF AN EDUCATION PROJECT IN SIERRA LEONE

SillllvLftRY AND CONCUJSIONS

i. The Sierra Leone Government ·requested financial assistance for an education project estimated to cost US$6.86 million. After appraisal, the project was modified to cost about US$5.60 million. Of this, the Canadian International Development Agency is contributing US$0.6 million for equipment and UNDP is expected to provide technical assistance cost­ing US$0. 5 million. The proposed IDA credit and the Government con­tribution would cover the remaining US$4.5 million. Implementation ~~ require 4 years • ·

ii. Sierra Leone lacks a national development plan and an up-to-date rnanpo-v;er survey, but a 9-man UNDP team is expected to arrive in Freetovm early in 1970 to prepare the fomer and carry out the latter. It is clear, ho\vever, that an imbalance exists between general secondary education, where 26,400 pupils are enrolled; and technical education with only about 700 full-time students. Therefore, Until the UNDP team's findings are made lmmm, Government 1 s policy is to restrict enrollments in general second~ level and direct efforts towards qualitative improvement of the schools. 1 ~sting technical institutions are to be improved and expanded 1~thin the constraint in~osed by a shortage of technical teachers.

I

iii. The project would improve existing buildings and provide facilities for diversified curricula in practical subjects in eleven general secondary schools. Enrollment would increase by only 4%, but nearly 6, 000 pupils would have better employment prospects. '1\;o tech­nical institutes and two trade schools 'tvould be expanded to raise their annual output to abou"ti ·650 craftsmen and ·technicians. These 1rould re­place only about ·a third of the estimated annual wastage of the existing stock of 70,000 skilled w·orkers in Sierra Leone 1 s economically active population of about 0.9 million. Their employment prospects should, therefore, be good. The project also L"lclude3 the :r-ebuilding of Free­tolm Primary Teachers 1 "college t~hel'e in-service teachers follmv upgrading courses.

iv. Funds to provide an architect for the project unit and to support developments in agricultural education, educational statistics, and curriculum revision are included in the project • ..

v. In addition to · the assistance referred to under 11. above, the Government expects to obtain an 8-m.an team of technical experts under a UNDP project, to help develop the technical institutes and trade schools

· and organize technical teacher training.

vi. Schedules of accommodation and est~tes-of furniture and equip-ment costs are satisfactory. Contracts for civil -rrorks, furniture and equip­ment procurement Hould be avrarded on the basis of international compE~.titive bidding. Consulting architects would be retained to und$rtake the design and supervision of construction work involved in the proposed project.

,'

ii

6 vii. The estimated annual current expenditure created by the project would amount to about US$0.37 million which is about 3.5% of the Government's current expenditure on educati~n. The capital contribution and current costs are within the capacity of the Goverrunent.

v~~~. The project provides a suitable basis for an IDA credit of US$3 .o million. This ~rould provide for the . foreign exchange component, estimated at US$2.3 million,on the assumption that contracts for furn­iture to the value of about US$0.20 million 1-rill be awarded to local suppliers, and a local aurrenc,y component of US$0.7 million.

f ·

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Excerpt from Appraisal Report No. PE-9a, (Appraisal of an Education Project in Sierra Leone), dated December 1, 1969.

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VI. THE PROJECT

6.01 The proposed project, which is designed to meet the needs described in the preceding section, would comprise the following:

{a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

One Primary Teacher Training College. Rebuilding -the Freetown Primary Teachers' College, providing improved facilities for 250 students, of which 125 vJ'ould be increased enrollments.

I Eleven Secondary Schools (Annex 12). Construction of extensions for practical subjects, providing improved facilities for 5,960 pupils, of which 1,180 would be increased enrollments, ·and 1,190 would be boarding places.

Four Technical/Trade Schools (Annex 13). Construction of extensions to two technical institutes and t Ho trade schools, providing improved facilities for 1,930 students of which 1,200 would be increased enrollments and 175 boarding places.

Services of Consultant Architects. To set standards in school buildings, furniture and costs, and oversee imple­

- mentation of the building program. I .

:Technical Assistance . To provlde an archi teet for the 1project unit and-to support developments in agricultural \education, educational statistics and curriculum revision. \ '

UNDP Technical Assistance. To comprise an 8-man team of spe~j ::1lists ; 'Yl tec[l~"lical -educc..t:i.cn and vccational training and associated teacher training.

Instructional Equipment. To be supplied under a grant by the ~anadian International Development Agency.

Freetown Primar,y Teachers' College

6.02 There are 2,270 untrained primary school teachers in Sierra Leone, of \vhom about .500 are within commuting distance of Freetovm Primary Teachers' College , which is used in the evenings for training such teachers and up­grading others. It is on a site adjacent to Bishop Johnson Secondary School which is included in the proposed project .for __ E?xtens.ion and improvement~ The college buildings are dilapidated and lack equipn~nt . By sharing the new laboratories, workshops and library to be built for the school, only minimal extra facilities would be required for the college to increase its enrollment from 125 to 250, thereby doubling its output, and providing urgently needed improved training facilities. Reposting of untrained teachers from the provinces to Freetown would enable the college to be used cbntinuousl~ in the foreseeable future.

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Eleven Secondary Schools

6.03 o From 1965 to 1968 ·enrollments in Sierra Leone's 72 general second­ary schools increased from about 16,400 to 26,400. Because of inadequate capital provision for this expansion {para. 4.03), equipment is deficient, facilities for science and practical subjects are lacking, and some buildings in the longer-established schools are old and structurally unsuitable for conversion. This has resulted in a purely academic education and low-quality output of pupils for whom unemployment is increasing. Better facilities for training in practical subjects are therefore needed to prepare school leavers for existing opportunities in the technical, commercial and agricul­tural fields.

.--6.04 Seven of the schools, four of which are in the Freetown area, \-Jere chosen because they are progressive and interested in curriculum change, but they urgently require improved facilities. The other four -vrere chosen i because of their keen interest in agricUlture. Bearing in mind that 24 of the country's 72 seconda~ schools are in the Freeto1~ area, a reasonable national distribution has been achieved (see Map).

6.05 The ~eleven schools now have 1,150 boarders, mainly in sub-standard accommodation, about three-quarters of which will be improved, resulting in facilities for 1,190 pupils, all of whom live beyond commuting distance from school.

Technical Institutes and Trade S8hools

6.06 Enrollments in technical institutes and trade schools total about 1,100 students;\ of whorit 740 were full-time day, in 1968/69 as compared with 26,000 pupiLs in general secondary schools. This substantial imbalance bet­ween technical and general education requires that action should be taken to increase the output from technical institutes a.nd trade schools. This view is reinforced by the existing shortage of skilled craftsmen and tech­nicians and by the fact that many posts requiring technical skills are filled by foreigners.

6.07 The standard of aQministration, organization and training in the two technical institutes and t~o trade schools is low, principally because of an acute shortage of industrially experienced teachers. Buildings are good but some extensions, additional equipment, improved maintenance of equipment, and improved direction and teaching are required.

6.08 Pending clarification of manpo-tv-er needs (para. 5.02 ), developments in technical training are being limited to the four existing institutes _ and schools (Annex 13) as follm~s:

{a) Freeto-vm &"1d Kenema Technical Institutes. Increased enroll­ments in mechanical, electrical, civil engineering and -building technician courses at Freeto'Lm Technical Institute

- 11-

from about 160 to 280 and in commercial studies from about 110 to 260; at Kenema Technical Institute, artisan course enrollments to expand from about 100 to 430.

(b) KissY Trade School. An expansion from about 300 to 700 students which includes new courses in refrigeration and air-conditioning.

(c) }fagburaka Trade School. An expansion from 60 to 240 students including new courses in painting and decorating, and in plumbing.

Total day enrollments 1..rould increase from about 750 to about 1, 950 of 'tvhom 175 would be boarders living beyond co~~ting distance. Additional classrooms, workshops and equipment would be required.

Technical Assistance

6.09 Because local staff lack experience, technical assistance would be required as part of the IDA Credit as follmv-s:

(a) An Agricultural Education Specialist. To coordinate the I agricultural training programs at Njala University College, 1 the secondar.y schools, and primary teacher training

colleges, a qualified and experienced agricultural educationist would be attached to the Yrlnistry of Education

, for 3 years (para. 3. 01) •.

(b) 1. A ·statistician. To improve the system for compiling arid '\ reporting educatj.onal statistics at district and regional leyels,•and their processing at headquarters, an experienced \statistician would be attached to the 1-iinistry of Education ''or 3 years {para. 3.01). I

· (c) Four Curriculum Specialists. To modernize secondary school curricula to accord 1~th employment opportunities in Sierra Leone's expanding commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors (para. 3.03), four specialists, one each for mathe­matics, science, social studies and English, would be attached to the Ministry of Education for a total of 3 man-years.

(d) A Project Architect. To coordinate, supervise and approve the architectural -vrork and contract aHards for construction vJ'ork, an experienced archi teet would be appointed to the project unit for 4 years (para. 7.01).

6.10 From UNDP Funds. On completion -of -the- proposed expansion of the technical institutes and trade schools, about 70 technical and 30 general subject teachers would be needed. No difficulty is anticipated in obtaining the general teachers (para. ).07) but special steps to upgrade existing and train > additional technical teachers are needed. The Government e:>.."P€cts to obtain from UNDP an .8-man team, led by a chief of project, to cover.in-plant and apprentice training, electrical trades, automotive trades, refrigeration ,

.... -

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and air-conditioning, machine shop work, commercial teacher training and instruotor training. Each -expert would be required for 3 years, except the team leader v.rho would be required for 5 years. The team would assist the general development of the four technical institutes and trade schools and the establishment of a technical teacher training program in association with the Freetown Technical Institute and Milton ¥~rgai Teachers' College.

6.11 During negotiations, the Government gave an assurance that the services of a technical team as indicated above would be obtained, either as a UNDP project or through other means.

6.12 The Canadian International Development Agency is to provide instruc-tional equipment for all the schools in the project in a value of about Can.$6.50, 000 or US$600 ,000. Freight costs for delivery of the equipment to !

· Sierra Leone will be met by the ~DA share of the project. ;

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SIERRA LEONE

Bank Group Operations: Existing and Prospective

A. Existing Operations

1. The Bank Group has loaned $22.2 million for power, roads, and agriculture. There have been no .IFC investments. Proje_s:t

encountered problems in man instances and these, p!us the

Bank Loans and IDA Credits (as at January 1, 1973)

Loan or Credit .Amount (US$ million) Number Year Borrower Purpose Bank IDA Undisbursed

388-SL 1964 Sierra Leone Expansion of Electricity Corp. electricity

system 3.8

553-SL 1968 Sierra Leone Electricity Corp. Expansion of

electricity system 3.9

170-SL 1970 Sierra Leone Education 3.0 2.6

218-SL 1970 Sierra Leone )Roads, highway 3.5 3.2 )maintenance,

710-SL 1970 Sierra Leone )studies 3.7 3-7

323-SL 1972 Sierra Leone Agriculture /-- ·4.3 4.3

Total 11.4 10.8 13.8 --2. As early as 1961--when it became independent, but before obtaining Bank membership--Sierra Leone indicated to us that one of its first requirements for development assistance would be in the power field. A British consulting firm studied the power situation in Freetown. Its recommendations provided the basis for our first lending operation in 1964--a $3.8 Bank loan for a power expansion program in Freetown (Loan 388-SL). During appraisal for that project, the Bank advised that it would not consider financing the

-2-

project until the Electricity Division of the Minist~ of Works was reorganized as a separate enti~ with an appropriate financial and corporaue structure. The Government decided, in view of the need for power, to proceed immediately with the project on the basis of suppliers' credits, but with a provision to enable these to be paid off should the Bank subsequently make a loan. With the help of its consultants, the Government followed standard Bank procedures, conferring with the Bank about technical details, and called for tenders on an international competitive basis. It was agreed in principle that should the Bank subsequently approve a loan, it would reimburse expenditures made on the project after Janu~ 1, 1963. Legislation establishing the Electricity Corporation was enacted in M~ 1964. The Sierra Leone Electricity Corporation (SLEC) began operations on August 4, 1964. The Bank approved a loan for $3.8 million two weeks later.

3. Until 1969, SLEC operated quite successfully, both administrativ and financially. :Yhen roblems develo ed as iff'P.:Y: b t loy and management, and between management and government and the lsnuss o e ner ana er. lS rought the administra lOn of SLEC to a virtual halt. oncurrently, financial problems ~s; due to slackening of load growth, rising labor coats, increasin~ operating J~~es on proVlnClai power operations and ra idly groWing accounts rece· e (the latter in part due to arrears on electrici lf bl s y overnment itself). While an expatriate General Manager was subsequently appointed and labor tension abated, financial problems remain veEY serious~ The Bank has followed this situation closely through supervision and area department visits: strong -cepres•nt ais:ieHe hao e "Bee:a maa8 to Government, stressing the need f~r lmprovemenj:.. Jlowever, Qmrernment 1s response has gener•lly :be.ep--.., i ~~. In fact, the Electricity Corporation has in recent months consistently failed to pay its Bank loan service p~ents on time. This situation has on several occasions been called to the attention of Government (which is Guarantor for both power loans). The delayed payments problem has had to be reported to the Bank's Executive Directors.

4. In a letter dated M~ 16, 1972, the General Manager of SLEC requested a supplement~ loan of US$67.5 .. ,000 to help meet the overrun on the foreign exchange cost of the 1968 power project (Loan 553-SL). Mr. Chaufournier replied on June 8, 1972 that it was not likely that the Bank would consider the supplementary financing, but that a supervision mission soon would be in the field to review the matter more carefully. The mission filed its report on October 26, 1972. The cost overrun of about 17 percent of the $3.9 million amount was due to the actual cost of the equipment and services exceeding estimates by about $375,000 and by recent changes in foreign currency values, accounting for $300,000. The loan was fully disbursed in April 1972 and additional funds are now being sought to pay balances outstanding

__ o_n about 10 equipment contracts. It is not unusual for a Borrm.rer ±a~ t~Jete EgYments on contracts for which no Bank funds remain; ±his~ itself does not provide a loan.

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5. At present, in additon to accounts receivable from ordina~ consumers of about $1 .25 million and improperly billed accounts re­presenting prospec.tive revenues of about $375,000,000 the Government~ itself owes the SLEC about 00 000 -- or the amount of the requested supplementary loan. f the Government pa~ ~ s acco , woUld be in a pos~tion to make complete payments on the contracts without the need for a supplementa~ loan. However, even so, the financial position of SLEC would continue to be precarious until measures -­including perhaps a possible tariff increase and/or increase of the Government's subsidy on behalf of provincial operations -- are adopted to make SLEC financially viable.

6. The temptation to throw up our hands in desperation is great in the case of the SLEC, but it could be argued that the Bank has particular responsibility here. It was largely through our insistence that the Corporation was established. Recently SLEC has seen some improvements. Labor difficulties have been resolves. Friction between the General Manager, the Board and Government Ministries involved no longer seem to exist. Certain key management posts, which have been vacant for some time, have recently been filled; the overall management situation seems to be improving. A major problem outstanding is the financial position of SLEC. The case for a supplementary loan is weak at present because of this problem and because as shown above, Government payment of its arrears could take care of the additional costs whiCh have been incurred under our project. Under any circumstances we could only be prepared to consider any future lending to the SLEC if we see evidence of real effort on the part of Government and SLEC management to improve the latter's financial situation.

7.

(11#1 a:va a e or financing by suppliers' credits consortium. Bank examination of this project time being it wo ec •

, might inhibit development of higher priority projects in other sectors as a result of virtually exhausting the country's capacity to assume debt in the next decade. A UNDP-financ. ed. power study, complete ) in 1971, concludes that the.....&e:cel:ati pg fa~j J j;t,te.~ ... lltl t J~Y:mb . a.-§.Qll~

1 are not requi;ceg lJPt;i.l ai:t.er J 2~0. In expressing its reservations about this project, the Bank might indicate that it would consider financing it at same point in the future. The Canadian firm that for.ms part of the consortium which is conducting the feasibility study for Bumbuna (and presumably, will get the contract for construction, if Government decides to go ahead immediately) is concerned about the weak condition of the Sierra Leone economy. A representative of the firm has recently told us that his firm would not request Canadian export credit financing for construction of Bumbuna if the World Bank should advise against such action. The representative plans to visit Bank headquarters in January,l973.

- 4 -

8. For reasons indicated above, we believe that it could be most advisable to infor.m the Government that:

(a)

(b) If the Government wishes to pursue this matter further the Bank would be willing to re-open

(d)

the question only if there are adequate assurances and a program for raising SLEC tarrifs and

economic require-

ments.

~~~~~~wq~~~~~~~~;~·s~~~o~0~!~hAe~a~b~o~.v~:~:r; Bank~~ 9. In education an IDA credit is being used to help finance extensions to 11 seconda~ schools, two technical schools and two trade schools;rebuilding of a primar.y teacher's training college; technical assistance for teChnical education and vocational training. The Canadian International Development Agency is providing instructional equipment. Generally, the project has been executed satisfactorily. However, in April 1972, an issue arose over the award of a contract for construction of school buildings. International

-5-

0. The highwgr pr~t includes construction of the Bo-Kenema road, purchases of roan itialntenance equipment, and a feasibility study and detailed engineering for a future highway project, as well as technical assistance to the Ministry of Works for improving road maintenance; the latter component is financed by UNDP, with the Bank acting as Executing Agency. Implementation ~ ~ of t~ project was substantially delayed a(ter Board approval jn 1970 because- ~ th · r construction of the road came in more than 60 percen ove

.Lbe consul t.antey r t:stimate and abou e Bank appraisal estimate. A special study was commissioned by the Bank to look into the reasons for this discrepancy. The report, issued in March 1972, recommended either negotiating with the two lowest bidders to obt~n lower prices or carrying out the works under a management-type contract, similar to the contract under which the Crown Agents (U.K.) are executing construction of the adjoining road--Taima-Bo. Extensive negotiations followed with the two lowest bidders and with the Crown Agents, who had been invited to submit a proposal. t finally chose the original lowest bidder a . German . firm and we w ich the Gove ent

. ~orl'S't:0Js~~~Catk - · thin_. t e J.nancJ.n rovJ.ct~c! in the original Credit. Construction on the Bo-Kenema road began last November.

]).. Delays also occurred in the purchase of highway maintenance equipment, for which $1.5 million was included in the project. The Government received bids in Janu~ 1971, but no contracts were awarded because the evaluation procedures were in substantial conflict with Bank Guidelines for Procurement. In April 1972, the Government agreed to rebid for the equipment. New bid documents have been prepared and approved by the Bank. Tender invitations were recently sent out.

Sqm,e_ .. d=J.a¥a.Jlad been encountered in obtaining expatri for the project unit fo~ agrJ.c- ure p~; e ec J.veness date had to be postponed twice. In part the delay was caused by our own administrative

- '6-

and procedural difficulties. To borrow ADS staff from Nairobi for a job i n ~1e11 a Leone was something we were not able to agree to without prolonged internal discussions. The credit is now effective however, as M ase from ADS has been appointe t The proJeC Wl include: comp e s a lshment of a 2, oil palm plantation and constructing a palm oil mill to service the estate; providing smallholders with credit for labor, pesticides, fertilizers and improved planting materials to clear and bring into production up to 6,000 acres of swamp rice, plant up to ?SO acres of cocoa and plant up to 1,830 acres of oil palm; construction of 20 small rice mills; training project far.mers in efficient rice, cocoa and oil palm production techniques; carrying out studies to prepare an agriculture development project in the northern province, a commercial forest~ project in the Tama forest~ reserve and detailed studies of domestic oil palm requirements, the marketing and processing of domestic rice and the marketing of imported rice.

B. Prospective Operations and Strategy

13. . As mentioned in the CPN, we lan in developing agriculture--the highh~e~stt~~~it~~tfir[~~~;;~~~~

- el"' 61' ts • 1'he en t ri culture ro · for as ist ce

1a. One rather unusual initiative may be attempted in FY1973 when we ~ hope to ~ o ial lendin o er tion for ro·ect re aration ose~ I This would help strike at one of the very real deve opment bottlenec s ln Sierra Leone. We have discussed this matter informally with Government and it is most anxious to have the assistance. This approach was approved by the CPN meeting last November. It would finance specific sectoral studies from which viable development projects would emerge. UNDP would normally help in this are but has a scarcity of funds. The -Government is preparing

high priori feasibilit u · · n to the Bank - anu lS list will then be reviewed by the various roJe s

slons and Departments involved--and, i f found acceptable for Bank financing, a joint Projects/Program mission will go in the field in Febru~ or March to complete appraisal of the project.

15. In educati on, a UNESCO sector review mission is scheduled to go to Freetown early in 1973. It is possible that suggestions for a second education project will result from their investigation. The UNESCO mission has been postponed twice already at the Government's request, since it has queried the usefulness of having education experts which have no prior knowledge of Sierra Leone.

Western Africa Region Division lB December 28, 1972

- 7 -

,J ....... \.-.... A. \.4.i."-;_ J .,

Des cri ption Co's t Loan Cr. Return . Reraarks -------- .. ;. ·

l0/27/70 Sierra $11.4 ;· $3.7 . $3 •. 5 24% . I

, • Leone Construction of of L~3-mile Bo­Kenema Highway. mechanical equip-. ment for highway

· .. ·. ·. Completes last section of main trunk highway bet-v;een Freetown, the capital, and Kenema, the third largest town, in area of 500.000 people producing most of

maintenance, and . consultant servic~s· .

... . ·,·'

''· : ! . ~ . ~.

Sierra Lt!o .. :c s c.vcv<i a~lu ~v ... 4 L-•­

exports, and center for diamond mining~ its chief export. Project is based on UNDP­financed Land Transport Survey

. .. . ~.."t· •• '1 . ·: ·. . (

. ~. i • •

. ·.· (

. (IBRD was Executing. Agency) which in addition concluded, and Government agreed, that uneco­nomic Sierra Leone Railway be

. closed down, and . comprehensive · road maintenance program be undertaken. Will lead to major reorganization of Highway Divi­sion, large increase in budget for highway maintenance, and ne\v investment i~ equipment and workshops. UNDP will supplement p~oject with US$ 1 million tech-

', ........ . . ·. . .. . . . · .. ''. ' ' . .. . .. .. .

. · ' . ... , · .. ~. ,I

1

I ',• 1

: . .. . ' .. · .·. •

1\ , ! , 1 , ' I •

0 0

, , I , ~ 1

. . ·.· ..

' • I o

6/20 /72 Sierra Integrated Agri- $5.6 Leon~, cultural develop-

ment project includin~ establishment of project · management unit; pla11t- · .. ing 510 acres in oil · . ,

• ' I • I ' ' ' '

~ ' '. ,.' . ' , I '

··:. ·, .. · ,,.,

. •,

. .. ·.~ $4.3

• • ' I •• ~ O;'': :. . ,.

• ' I

· nical assistance grant •

~ '

·l5i. . ' Project is first phase of program to~raise income, living standards about 2,500 small-. : . .·· · holder farm families cor.1pris-

.~. ing some ·13,000 people and conforms to Government policy . · .. , . . I . : , ·.

. , ·, .· :/ .. ': ..... :, : .. · . . ...... · ·.:. of increasing .. exports crops · "- ·· ' . .. . . . . . . and expanding smallholder

-- ~ palm, cons t:ructing palm oil mill; smallholders· . credit to bring 6,000 acres into rice

.J .· :. ·· · · cropping. Pr.oj ect will increase

· production, plant 750 acres of cocoa, plant 11 830 acres of oil palm; farmc1.· training; agri- ·. cultural studies; · establishment of Agricultural Develop­ment Authority • .

' ;

. ' .

... ·. ... . . '·· ' · ....

.rural employment and is initial step in diversification of

:, .. , economy. ·

. . ...

.... ~ 0 o ' O :, • ' I I ' ' I :I o. I '

' I . ~

. •

SIERRA LEONE

UNDP Activities:ll

The UNDP Country Program for Sierra Leone covering the period 1972-77 is scheduled to be presented to the June 1973 session of the UNDP Governing Council. The Bank wrote to Mr. Alfred Edward, UNDP Resident Representative in Sierra Leone, on November 6, 1972 offering comments on the Background Paper which precedes the Country Program.

The Indicative Planning Figure (IPF) for Sierra Leone is US$7 .5 million for the Program period. Since the Country Program is not yet avail­able even in draft, it is not clear as to whether the IPF might be over programmed. As in the case of most African countries, however, it is likely that there wiil be more and pre-investment projects tha~ ther

these limitations.

The Bank will soon be invited to participate in the preparation of the Country Program Paper, when copies of the draft Paper will be sent to us for review and comments.

There are about forty on-going projects financed by UNDP in Sierra Leone at present. The Bank serves as Executing Agency for two of them. The first is a Land Transport Survey scheduled to be completed in August 1973. UNDP has contributed US$822,000 to the cost of the project. The second is a Highway Organization and Maintenance and Highway Feasibility studies project approved in June 1971 and scheduled for completion in July 1975. UNDP's contribution to the cost of the project is $1,313,000 equivalent.

The Bank has expressed "special interest" in one project - the strengthening of the Sierra Leone Electricity Corporation - and has requested periodic and final reports in connection with another: Vocational Training P~ogram.

appears to above.

It is partly for this that we are anxious to help finance a serie.s of feasibilities studies ourselves. As mentioned (under Issues for Discussion) we have agreed to review a list of such studies evaluated by the UNDP~financed economic planning team (needed by Dr. Meseric and located in the Ministry of

1/ For Curriculum Vitae of UNDP Resident Representative, see Tab D.

-2-

Development) for possible inclusion under a separate project preparation operation for possible financing by a Bank technical assistance grant, or, an IDA credit.

The planning team was approved for UNDP financing as long ago as June 1970 but due to a very slow recruitment - largely caused by UNDP 1s headquarters in New York - effort the team has only been operational as of last fall, when team leader arrived in Freetown. ~cently a Bank staff me~, Miss Aileen Powell, was de utized for two years as UNDP Assist a sident

1ve 1n ree own. An accoun an y pro ession, Miss Powell has worked with the Con ro er 1 s, Treasurer 1 s and Development Services Departments for about 10 years. She began her assignment in Freetown in early January 1973. At the end of it she will return to the Bank. Meanwhile a UNDP staff member has taken over her duties in Development Services Department (liaison work with UDPD) on a temporary basis.

Attached is a listing of UNDP-financed projects approved as of June 30, 1972.

Attachment

Western Africa Region Division lB December 26, 1972

SIERRA LEONE

I .

Project number and title

AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

II. COUNTRY PROJECTS

Approved as of 30 June 1972

SIL-66-S07 SURVEY AND DEVELOPMENT OF PELAGIC fiSH RESOURCES

SIL-68-006 FORESTRY DEVELOPMENT

SIL-68-005 LAND AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RURAl INDUSTRIES

SIL-68-007 NUTRITION

Sll-7Q-015 COOPERATIVE BANKING CREDIT AND FINANCE

SIL-71-012 AGRICULTURAL CREDIT AND fiNANCE

Sll-71-015 AGRICULTURAL METEOROLOGY

SIL-71-020 PROTEIN RICH FOOD EXPERT

EDUCATION

Sll-71-005 EDUCATtO~Al STATISTICS AND PLANNING

SIL-65-501 TRAINING OF SECONDARY SCHOOL TE~CHERS AT THE ~ILTON HARGAI TRAINING COLLEGE, fREETON

I I

I GENERAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL POLICY AND PLANNING

SIL-69-003 DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

SIL-70-006 NUTRITION

SIL-70-011 MANPOWER

SIL-70-012 ORGANIZATION AND METHODS

SIL-70-510 ASSISrANCE IN DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

ISIL-71-009 AGRICULTU RAL SURVEYS ANO CENSUSES TRAINING PROGRAMME IN

SIL-71-011 MACROECO~O~IC PROJFCTION FOR DEVELOPMENT~PLANNING

Sll-71-019 ASSISlANCE IN DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

SIL-69-001 PURLI( FINANCE

Sll-68-002 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

SIL-71-002 LnCAL GOVERNMENT FJNANCE

HEALTH #

------ J Sll-68-00 9 VfNfREAL DISEASE ~NO TREPONEM~JOSES CONTROl

SIL-68-00 9 EDUCATION 4 ND TRAINING

Sll-71-013 SYMPOSIUM ON HEALTH SAFETY

INDUSTRY

SIL-69-006. MINERAL SURVEY (ECONOMIC GEOLOGY)

SIL-71-511 VOCATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMME

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

SIL-71-00t IN SUR ANCE LE GISLATIO N

NATURAL RESOURCES

SIL-69-509 STRENGTHENING OF THE SIEP,.\ . .LE-0/'t b.:EC R1·C!T':' .C9°PCR. I!

- 208-

Executing Date agency approved

FAD 01/66

FAD 11/68

FAO 12/68

FAO 11/68

ILO 12170

FAD 10/71

WMO 11/71

FAO 01/72

UNESCO 09/71

UNESCO 01/65

UN 10/69

FAO 08/70

llO 05/71

UN 11/70

UN 06/70

FAD 10/71

UN 11/71

UN 12/71

UN 12/68

UN 03/69

I UN 05/71

WHO 12/68

WHO 11/68

lAEA 10/71

UN 06/70

flO 01/71

UNCl AD 03171

UN 01/69

....

Estimated project cost Estimated r---('-'U-'S_d.;..o_l_la_r -re-'Q_u i_v_al-"e-'-n-"-tl __ -1 completion Gov;rnment

date UNDP counterpart contribution

02/72 394,084

02/12

05173 25,'t00

01/73 23,550

08/72 ~3.200

01/73 30.,000

O't/72 2,800

10/73 77 .,000

06/74 63,332

01/73 1,131,813 2, 825,330

03/73 27,700

12/72 36,700

05/13 64,600

01173 ~7,300

08/74 978,243 358,306

01/73 6,400

11172 1,000

01/72 1,300

Olt/73 63,272

07172 3,700

01173 32,350

12/72 220,800

10/73 22,000

01/72 1,450

01/74 25,300

01/74 690,500 370,413

01173 33,700

08/72 557,023 200,233

Project numb~; r ar:d title

ll. COi.JNTRY FROJECTS

Approved 2s of 30 June 1972

Executmg Date agency approved

SIERRA LEONE ·r:ontinucdi

Es i-nated comp;et1on

date

Es i.Hn a:ed prOj :;! Ct cc.c.t tUS lioll:H ~a~.n va ! e'1l\

--~ Go·; c rn mr:nt I

Uf-.lDP cou 1t e roMl contr-ibu !,on

r---------·----------~-------------------------------------------------~-------~--~--~--------;----------~-----------~ SClft-.CE ~ :l TECH._O LfJGY

S!L 6 g-0 10 MAR I~ E SCIE CES

SIL-6 R-012 METEO~OLOGY

SIL-70-007 W(ffOROLOGY

Sll- 68-013 NUCLEA~ PHYSICS

SnCIAL SECURITY A~D OTHE~ SOC IAL SERV ICES

Stl-68- 003 SOC IAL INSTITUTI ONS DE VELGP~F N T C ONSUME~ $ CO-OPERATIVES

JQ~NSPnRT A~D CO~ ~U~ I CATIO~S

SIL- 66-5~6 l NO TQANSP OR T SURVEY

SIL -l0-001 TPAFFIC E~G ~ ~~ E RING

Sll-71- 004 PnRT ~A~AG[v [ NT AND AOM I NIST RAT I CN

Slt-11-51 3 HI GH.,I ,\'f DRGt.~dLHI C111 AND Hl>. l r-.TE 'ANC.f. t<'iD Ht GH~hY

FEA S£ 5 Jl !T Y STUDIES

Sll - 71-0 0~ CI VIL AVIATI O ~ UrFICERS T R!IN I~G

Sll-68-011 T E L~CO~~UNICA TI O~S

U1·ill? PROJ3:CT._', T'J OT YET ftFPROV~,D, FO:l 1'JH 1CH TTb BAn\ HAS ;;:EQU3STSD Y3 RI0DIC l:.ND FI NAL P3 POETS:

SIL-1 h R:· ce Pese 2rch at the .Agricu!ttiral He t)ea:r cl.t Ir,1 ,3t i t ute

I SIL/?2/001 -- Freparc-~,t or;:-~ ~As sistance to t he Eokupr 1uce 1tese3r ·)Y St2tj.on

~

! •

have ex11:'uSS-=)d 11 Sl;t:Ci2.l i nteres t 11•

! t !

ha.ve re(;_nsstod p r iodic anc' f .ina1 1·eport_s • .. __ . _

.. I

-~----~ - 209 - ----

UNE SCO

IAEA

ILO

1£\ RD

UN

UNC TAD

I BP.D

JCAO

ITU

-

FAO I

ll/68 03/74 88,'>00

12/ 68 01/73 50,439

09/70 01/73 6,400

07/69 07/71 43,700

12/6a 04/72 74,725

Ol/66 07173 822,000 217.172

08170 03/12 27,350

05/71 10/72 4 2,500

06/71 07115 1,313,000 85,081

08/71 06/72 11,700

12/68 Ol/73 73.374

I - h yrs. 1;564,700 1,816,001 ... d r a - (pro osed D(propos e

tion ,,...

- 2 y r s ·I JS6,ooo we"l , 030, '1. d ra- (local . tio~1 currency

proposed )

)

0

NTERNA TIONAL DEVE LO PMENT I IN TE RNATI ONAL BANK FOR ASSOCIATION RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT I

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

N E NA 10 AL FINA CE CORPORATION

TO: Mr. William Clark

FROM : Paul Danquah ~ ~ - -y

DATE: December 28, 1972

SUBJECT: Mr. McNamara 1 s West Africa Trip -- the media in Sierra Leone

General

For all practical purposes the media is in the hands or under the con­trol of the Government. For this reason it is almost obligatory and cer­tainly practicable to send any material one wants to be sure of publica­tion in the press to the Chief Information Officer*.

Generally speaking, the newspapers are frankly poor in both form and content. English is the main working language but Sierra Leone is most noted among Western African countries for having the most sophisticated development of its indigenous languages. Krio (Creole) is a form of pidgin English which is written and spoken with great pride as a Sierra Leonean language. SLBS transmits regularly in Krio and the other main languages, including Mende and Temne.

The Press

government-owned, circulation about 15,000 (1971).

circulation about 9,000 (1971).

We Yone. This newspaper has long been noted for its great character and boldness under succeeding regimes in Sierra Leone's recent history of coups and counter coups. Even before this period it was well-known as exceedingly vituperative and disrespectful to all and sundry. It is now the organ of the ruling party and therefore has lost, pro tanto, much of its former fire and radical independence. It now comes out in Saturday and Sunday editions. The circulation claimed is 14,000 but, in fact, i~

is probably considerably less today.

The Sierra Leone Trade Journal. This newspaper also had something of a reputation for independence and in spite of its name is considered to be in the national class. It is the leader among a number of weekly and monthly journals.

Radio and Television

Both radio and television come under the aegis of the Government through SLBS (Sierra Leone Broadcasting Services). Radio coverage is national, based in Freetown and with two relay stations for the interior. A good deal of the broadcasting is in Krio.

* Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Lightfoot Boston Street, Freetown.

Mr. William Clark - 2 - December 28, 1972

The television service does not cover much more than the Freetown area and although the reference books cla~ that the television service reaches "most of the country," in practical terms it does not go much beyond a . radius of 20 miles • .

0

I·' i

- I· · ~.

SHERBRO ISLA

NORTH ATLANTIC

I !

N

50

Sierra Leone

CAPITAL ® REGIONAL CAPITAL

REGIONAL BOUNDARIES • • • • • • •

RAILROADS II I I II I IIIII I I MAIN ROADS _____ _

AIRPORTS *

\

75

· .....

SIERRA LEONE, the 39th largest country in Africa (27,925 square miles), slightly larger than West Vir­ginia and Delaware combined, is the shape of a hastily made snowball. Boundaries: Guinea curves around the little coun­try on its west, north, and northeast. Liberia lies to the southeast, and the Atlantic gives it 210 miles of coast on the southwest. · The new nation combines what, before indepen­dence, was the tiny British Crown Colony of 256 square miles and the large mainland Protectorate Territory. Three provinces make up the new na­tion: Northern (13, 925 square miles), Southeastern (5,876 square miles), and Southwestern (7,868 square m"iles). Sierra Leone's coast is flat and sandy, pierced by hundreds of rivers except where the coast rises into the mountainous Freetown peninsula.

Tidal swamps overgrown with mangrove lie be­hind the sand beaches. Inland, cocoanut groves line the rivers and piassava (a reed) gro\vs wild on the river deltas. Rolling hills rise behind the swamps to upland plateaus in the north and east, where they erupt into the Sula and Kangari hills to the west. In the northeast along the Guinea · highlands, the peaks of the Bintimani, Tingi, and Sankenbi­riwa mountains rise to 6,390 feet.

The country is webbed with rivers draining the northern plateau. The Great and the Little Scar­cies, Bagru, Jong, Sewa, Waanje, and Moa rivers provide inland watenvays whose navigability de­pends on the rains and the flood seasons. The capital: Freetown is the oldest city in 'Vest Africa (88,000 population). Other important towns are Bo (estimated 20,000 population), Kenema (4,-000), and Makeni (7,500). Transportation: Freetown Harbor is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. The estuaries of the Sierra Leone and Rokel rivers at Freetown and the Sherbro River at Bonthe Harbor accom-

modate ocean vessels. More than 3,000 miles of roads, all-season despite

the rains and floods, cover the country. Ten major bridges, dozens of small ones, and many ferries span the maze of rivers.

A government-owned railroad laboriously covers 311 miles of difficult terrain connecting the iron mines of Makeni, the diamond beds of the Sewa River, the Pendembu mines on the eastern frontier, and the town of Bo with Freetown.

A 57-mile private line carries ore from Marampa to Port Pepel. The Lungi airport is more than an hour by motor launch across the bay from Freetown. Population: Over 2,975,000, almost all African, in­cluding fewer than 100,000 descendants of the non­indigenous freed slaves for whom the colony was created. The non-African population includes around 2,000 Lebanese and Syrian tradesmen and 2,000 Europeans and Americans. Population density: An average of 106.5 persons per square mile. Religion: 30%, Christian; 18%, Muslim; remain­der, Animist or pagan. Illiteracy: 90%; in school, 20%.

There is an estimated average of one doctor for every 69,450 persons. Economy: Agricultural; diamond-mining an impor­tant asset. Chief exports: Diamonds, cocoa, coffee, palm ker- . nels, palm oil. Food crops: Rice, cassava, millet. Trade balance: Small deficit. Per capita income: $140.00 per year. Monetary unit: Sierra Leone pound = U.S. $2.80. Official language: English. . Government: Republic, with unicameral legislative branch. Armed f01·ces: Around 1,000;; security and police force, 2,000.

Sierra Leone 407

-·

.Victo'rian remnaut

Attaining its independence on April 27, 1961, Sierra Leone became, through peaceful evolu­tion, the twentieth independent nation of Africa after a hundred and fifty years as part British Crown Colony and part British pro­tectorate.

The story of Sierra Leone is deeply inter­woven into the history of all West Africa. It was named by the Portuguese navigator, Pe­dro da Cintra, who in 1460 sailed along the coast and into the great natural harbor cre­ated by the Sierra Leone Peninsula on the tip of which Freetown now stands. From the har­bor a high ridge of wooded hills rises steeply 3,000 feet. Often a deep mist hangs over the summit of the ridge.

From these mountains, according to legend, the Portuguese explorer heard a great, thun­derous roaring and named the spot "Sierra Lyoa" (Mountain of Lions). No one really knows whether it was thunder, the roaring surf, or native drums that Pedro da Cintra heard, for a lion has never been seen in the hills around Freetown. Two thousand years before Da Cintra's discovery, the Carthaginians

408 ALL AFRICA

2 IN THE ORDER OF

INDEPENDENCE

sailed near the coast but did not land on the strange shore because of "great' blazing fires, the wild beat of drums, and strange chants." The wild rhythmic beating of fifty African drums in an "ngoma" (playing of drums and dancing) is indeed an awesome, overpowering sound when first heard. It is undefinable, like something that must surely explode, and it may well have been Da Cintra's "lions."

English, Spanish, Dutch, German, and French trading ships followed along the Sierra Leone c.oast in the wake of the Portuguese ships, searching for gold and slaves. The first British ships to visit the Sierra Leone coast included those of Sir Francis Drake and of Sir John Hawkins, captain of the first British slave ship to transport slaves from the Nige­rian coast of Africa to the island of Haiti in the New World.

In 1785 the Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Mansfield, refuted slavery, decreeing that "as soon as any slave sets his foot on English ground, he becomes free." Soon after, Henry Smeatham, a ship's doctor, conceived the idea

. of creating an African settlement on African soil for both freed slaves and those rescued

British the Nige­Haiti in

England, · g that English , Henry the idea

rescued

.from illegal slave ships. Granville Sharp, a retired English civil servant and a leader in the movement to abolish slavery, took up the idea. The St. George Bay Company was formed to carry out the plan, and \vhat is known today as Sierra Leone Peninsula, on the southwestern coast of the West African "hump," was chosen as the site. Twenty square miles were purchased by the St. George Bay Company from -King :Niambana, paramount Temne chieftain whose tribes controlled the peninsula. The price paid to King Niambana was a goodly amount of rum, a few muskets, and an embroidered waistcoat.

Some four hundred Africans who had been freed in England, including the famous "first freed runaway siave," James Somerset, were soon on the first ship leaving England for their new haven on African shores. The ship, supplied by the British government, left the Thames on Christmas day, 1786, and anchored almost six months later (May 1787) in the har­bor of Sierra Leone. It arrived with a tragic cargo of eighty-seven dead including Dr. Smeatham- all victims of -the hazardous voy­age.

There had, unfortunately, been too little ad­vance preparation for the voyage and the settlement of the small group in the remote, unknown land. However, the courageous set­tlers erected a bamboo church, built houses, and called the settlement Granville. But lack of knowledge of the climate, the hinterlands, and the hostile tribes that surrounded the little village proved disastrous to the project. The surviving settlers had scarcely a roof over their heads when the rains came, as the rains still fall today along the coast, ~veraging more than 150 inches in the two annual seasons of deluge (from April to June and from October to December). Nothing could be planted, and in the following months many of the immi­grants starved or died of disease in the wet, unhealthy climate, leaving fewer than a hun­dred inhabitants in the little village. The sur-_ vivors were soon attacked by hostile tribes from across the bay on the mainland, and all but a handful were killed.

The operation of the unhappy project was then transferred to the Sierra Leone Company, which brought freed slaves from Nova Scotia to the settlement, and they, along with the few remaining first settlers, founded Freetown Col­ony. A British governor was sent out from England and the new colony struggled to sur­vive. But the ill-fated venture was destined for ·new trouble when _ the town was destroyed by the sans-culottes, firehrands of the French Revolution . . Although still surrounded by hos­tile tribes, _ the settlers slowly rebuilt the little town. Gradually a few Temne, Mende, Fou­lah, Sou Sou (Sousou), and Mandingo traders became friendly to the settlement, which had grown to more than three hundred houses and a small stand of public buildings. As Freetown developed into a thriving little community, "King Tom Junior" of the Temne became displeased with the whole idea and began a siege of the town in 1799. Intermittent attacks continued for five years, with more than 16,000 tribal warriors harassing the Black settlers who, after having escaped from white slavery, were barbarously persecut~d - by their own Black countrymen. At the height of the Temne attacks, around a thousand former slaves ar­rived in F:r:eetown, following a rebellion on the Caribbean island of Jamaica. They be­came known as the "maroons" as their de­scendants are still called today.

At the start of the siege in I 799, Freetown was incorporated and the colony attempted· to establish itself as a free state under the royal charter granted to the Sierra Leone Company. But the problem of defending itself from the warring Temne tribes proved too great, and in 1808 Freetown was declared the British Crown Colony of Sierra Leone, to be ruled by a governor and an advisory council.

The slave trade which had flourished along the coast had been declared illegal by Britain in 1807 and Freetown became a base for en­forcing the act. Courts were set up to try offenders and a patrol fleet lay off the coast of Sierra Leone to intercept slave-contraband ships. The first slave ship. was captured in 1808 and its cargo of terrified Blacks, once

Sierra Leone 409

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destined for slavery, were settled in Freetown. This haven among their own Black people was meant to bring freedom and friends to dislocated Blacks who had no idea where their homes were or who their peop~e might be. They only knew they had lived in "a vil­lage in a forest" or in "a hut in the tall bush." But to the indigenous Black tribes of Sierra Leone, the Black settlers ~ere "strangers'' . in­vading their tribal lands. These intruders came to be known as "creoles" and remained outsid­ers. Although the inlan~l tribes eventually came to trade with the people of Freetown, it was necessary for the governors of the Crown Col­ony to make treaties with the neighboring chieftains to prote_ct the Black settlers and the white missionaries. The British also had to stop the chieftains from illegally selling their own tribal people and the prisoners they had taken in inter-tribal battles and slave raids­to traders still illegally operating off the coast of Africa.

It must be said, however, that the intentions of the British founders of the original colony for freed slaves were not altogether altruistic. It had been hoped that the Crown Colony would be an extended arm of Briti&h cul­ture and religion in Africa and a base for the expansion of trade. This it was- to the extent that the lack of communication and trans­portation through the hostile interior would allow. To the best of their abilities, the Black settlers created a Victorian ·world to please

· their benefactors, but their efforts unfortu­nately also lowered a curtain of mistrust be­tween them and the surrounding tribal Afri­cans.

Although the slave resettlement may have failed as a basis of trade and British propa­ganda, the little community on the inhospitable coast of Sierra Leone did make an extremely important and lasting m ark on Africa. Despite the calendar of hard years during its settle­ment and colonization, Sierra Leone became the educational center of v\lest Africa. 1\llis­sionaries were active in the territory in the early nineteenth century, and the Church lVfissionary Society founded Fourah Bay Col-

410 ALL A F RICA

lege, now known as the University College of Sierra Leone. The famous college today stands on Mount Am·eoJ.., ·above Freetown. Many of ~Africa's leaders can thank the settlement of freed and runaway slaves for their education. Men such as Macauly of Nigeria and Caseley­Hayford of the Gold Coast (Ghana) had roots in Freetown. Samuel Adjai Crowther, a Yo­_ruba from somewhere along the Gulf of Guinea, was rescued from a slave ship, brought to Freetown, educated at Fourah Bay College and eventually became the first African Bishop of the Church of England.

· The Colony's first African-born governor, \.Yilliam Ferguson, was elected in 1844, and in 1861 Sherbro Island and a strip of · the mainland were annexed . to Sierra Leone Col­ony. In 1863 a governor-in-chief ruled Britain's far-flung \Vest African empire from Sierra Leone. This empire included the Gold Coast Colony and Lagos Colony, today the indepen­dent nations of Ghana and Nigeria. The terri­torial boundaries of Sierra Leone were agreed upon between the English and Liberia, the adjoining territory, in 1885. At this time the Berlin Conference. laid down the rules for the splitting up of Africa ·among the European colonial powers. In 1895 borders were drawn with the French, who were expanding their territories on the north and west in what is today Guinea. By 1896 the British had moved north and east from the Sierra Leone Penii1-sula and had declared a protectorate over the mainland area that today, along with the orig­inal "col9ny" on the ·peninsula, makes up the new nation of Sierra Leone. . .

The mainland Protectorate Territory of Sierra Leone was administered separately from the Crown Colony of Sierra Leone and, in the usual British manner, through the tribal chief­tains. But with the first attempt by the British to collect a "hut tax," the chieftains- rebelled, and two years later, in a bloody revolt of the chieftains and their tribesmen, about a thou­sand Bri tish subjects and a fe-w American missionar ies were killed. This was the last · rebellion against either the British or the "creoles" by the mainland tr ibes. In 1924 a

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new constitution brought the Protectorate and the Colony together t.mder one administration but gave less representation to the Protector­ate, thus permitting it to be dominated by the · Colony.

Owing to the early development of educa­tional facilities in Sierra Leone, the "c~eoles"· were, for many years, in demand ·as teachers and civil service workers in the British colo­nial territories of the Gold Coast and Nigeria. Sierra Leone Colony became a leader among the West African territories, advanced as it \Vas in its semi-autonomous government as well as in its educational achievements.

However, the Colony's status in Africa changed as World War II came to an end. The whole of Africa was then awakening po­litically, and its aims were no longer "some measure" of self-rule under colonialism but the throwing off of colonial rule altogether and the attainment of complete independence. Most colonial powers had become aware of "the change" that was taking place in Africa, and they acted to save what they could of their African empires for as long as they could. France granted limited autonomy to her terri­tories and Britain began preparing her col­onies for eventual independence in some form.

Although nationalism was stirring all across Africa, the movement did not arouse the little Colony to concerted or violent action. It waited for independence to come and the rest of emerging West Africa passed it by poli t­ically and began to catch up with it in edu­cation.

_Hostility and lack of unity between the .· Colony and the Protectorate hampered the territory's political development and hs prog- · ress toward independence.

It 'Was not until 1947 that the Protectorate attained a proportionate representation in the government, but even then the Colony had

·more power: In 1956 the people of the Pro­tectorate rose in revolt to obtain rights totally equal to those of the people in the Colony, who were s_till considered "strangers" in SieiTa Leone. ·

Although the inhabitants of the Colony

were politically sophisticated the tribal popu­lation of the Protectorate was still politically una·ware and had no organized parties. Tlu~ largest "of the tribal groups were the M·ende, who today make up more than 30 percent of the total population. The lVIende are extdwr­diqarily prolific and their language is -spoken across the . northern . an~ a. They still practice the traditional African Animist religion, often enshrining small images by burying them in the ground. Nwego is their "Supreme God."

The Temne tribes, now second in size, had originally swept down from the north around the time the freed slave settlement at Free­town came into being. The Temne had caine under Muslim influence and still show signs of Islamic culture. The Temne language is the language of the south.

The Limba is the third largest of the many tribes. The Mandingo are pastoral, Muslim people whose history is interwoven with the Muslim invasion of the western Sudan, when the Muslim empires of Ghana, Mali, and Gao flourished on the upper Niger. Today the Mandingo tribes spread across what are now lower Mali, upper Guinea, and Senegal. The Sou Sou, who sing and dance and play the "balanji" and the xylophone, live in the coastal regions of both Sierra Leone and Guinea. The nomad Pula (Fulani) cattlemen of the north, own a large part of the country's 200,000 head of livestock. The Kissi are of pure West African Black origin. Their ancestors inhabited the coastal forests from the western "hump"· to the "elbow" of the continent. The Bullom and Sherbro tribes of the coast, be­lieved to have been the original in-habitants of Sierra Leone, are now the fisherrpen. Th~ Kono and the Kuraniw are the great hunters. The only written tribal language is that of the Via (Gallina) people.

As other countries of Africa fought for in- -dependence, Sierra Leone .perhaps ·had just enough self-rule to lull it into a passive state. Furthermore, the · friction between the Colony and the Protectorate also forestalled indepen­dence. Within this strange political ·climate, a cautious leader rose. He had to fight first

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for equal rights for the indigenous peoples of the . Protectorate .. Then, before independence could be approached, some kind of · union of Sierra Leone's two parts had to be achieved.

That leader, Milton i\!Iargai, who eventu­ally became Prime Minister of Sierra Leone, was a Mend.e ·botri in the village of Gbangba on December 7, 1895, the year Sierra Leone's bottndaries began to take shape through agree­ments between the British and French col­onists. His father was a merchant at Bonthe, where he went to primary school. He attended secondary school in Freetown and then went to Fourah Bay College for his bachelor of arts degree. In 1926 he received his medical def,rree from King's College M~dical SehGal in Eng­land, became the Protectorate's first Black .

· doctor, and joined the government medical . service~ As a medical officer, he 'vorked through­out almost every part of the country. In the Mende territory, he taught anatomy and child . care through the "Bundu" secret initiation so­ciety of the · Mende women whose object was, in their primitive ways, (that included circum­cision of young girls) to prepare women for adulthood and marriage according to their tribal traditions.

During these years ·Margai combined poli­tics with his medical work, serving as a ·mem­ber of the Bonthe District Council and a non-chief member of the Protectorate Assem­bly. In his own cautious but determined way, he fought for the new Constitution of 1947 that gave the Protectorate equal and propor­tionate representation with the Colony in the Legislative Council. He was co-founder of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), which finally achieved a political union between Col­ony and Protectorate. He came into power in the 1952 government. A new constitution was drawn up and self-government was slowly worked out; all government posts were ta-ken over by Africans and the first general elections were held in 1957. In 1958 Sir Milton Margai became Prime Minister.

Complete independence in 196 I brought out tlie drums, "obololis," zylophones, "balanjis," iniles of bunting, and the singing Sou Sou. In-

412 ALL AFRICA

dependence festivities drew the heads of state from many of the newly independ~nt coun­tries of vVest Africa:, who expressed gratitude for the part Sierra Leone had played in the development of education in Africa since its first educational center was estaplished in

·· Freetown a· hundred years earlier. The Para-. mount Hotel, built for the occasion, overflowed for three grand days, although it has been comparatively quiet and decidedly uncrowded ever since.

The 1962 elections were contested by the opposition, but through a coalition with the All People's Congress, Prime Minister 1\1argai formed a government. The tribal chieftains,

· still powerful leaders, were well . established at the top levels of politics and government .. In African affairs, the new· nation politically leaned to the right, as indicated by its member-ship in the Monrovia Group. .. · Its slow ·evolution into independence de­prived the country of the impetus that comes with the dramatic sudden change of revolution. Many other countries of Africa, plummeted

· into' independence by explosive revolutions, · had been carried on by the momentum to faster, though in many instances not lasting, political and economic development. Sierra Leone, on the other hand, was forced to gen­erate day-to-day momentum to carry the na­tion ahead. Young men in the foreground of Sierra Leone's new regime, such as Dr. John Kerefa-Smart, wisely proposed starting out by discovering what the country had and what it had not, so that they could evaluate what it ;needed .. I\1ost facts arid figures available on Sierra Leone in use after independence were over twenty-five years old. Despite the fact that after the Second World War many larger African territories had made great strides in educational facilities, with schools and colleges developed by the colonial powers, Sierra Le­one, although it had progressed little during this period, still remained in the front ranks as an educational center. ·

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At independence there were twenty-eight · secondary schools in Sierra Leone, . plus the

famous school at Bo which was founded in 1906 by Sir Leslie Probyn f~r the sons and proteges of paramount chieftains of Sierra Leone. This unique school, giving Africans a . British school education without interfering with their traditional African tribal life, be­came the "Eton of Sierra Leone," where many of the chieftains now prominent in Sierra Leone were educated. Even today there is nothing anywhere else in Africa like this school. The Prince of Wales Secondary School, the Freetown Secondary School for Girls, and twenty-eight others in the colony are superior to the schools of the many larger countries in Africa · in number and quality. There are also six teacher-training colleges and two technical institutes.

Sierra Leone was prominent in the West African Congress; and the "Vest African Youth League, radically dedicated to a Pan-African ideology, was founded in Sierra Leone.

On April 28, 1964, the man referred to in Africa as "the mildest and most unexpected nationalist leader Africa has-produced," Prime Minister Sir Milton Margai, died. Soon after Sir Milton's half-brother, Albert M. Margai, was appointed prime minister after strong op­position from members of Parliament had been withdrawn. The new prime minister, Minister of Finance at the time, had begun his career as a London-trained lawyer, becoming active in politics as co-founder, with his broth-

. er, of the Sierra Leone People's Party. In the last few years the two brothers had . grown apart politically, but the new prime minister

. . could be called a moderate also. His first year in office · indicated that few changes in the policies of Sir ¥ilton during his regi~e would be made.

In 1966 Prime Minister Margai attempted to establish one-party rule but met with very strong opposition. As corruption in govern­ment increased and unwise government spend­ing reached an alarming peak, the Prime Minister became even more unpopular than he had been at the beginning of his term.

414 ALL AFRICA

In the March 1967 elections lVfargai was defeated by only a few votes by Siaka Stevens, leader of the All Peoples Congress. The decision "\vas so close and there had been · so many irregularities in the balloting on both sides that the government of Prime Minister Siaka Stevens was overthrown by the army two hours after his taking office. The army coup installed Colonel Andrew 1 uxon-Smith as head of. the governin_g body, the National Reformation Council.

The military government was soon accused of also being corrupt and failing to fulfill its promise to return the government to the people. On Aprir 18, 1968 a new army coup overthrew the government of Andrew 1uxon­Smith and the ruling National Reformation Counc:il, which had raised taxes as living costs and unemployment rose. Tension had been mounting for some time and an earlier at­tempt to overthrow 1uxon-Smit?'s regime had been thwarted by help from neighboring Guinea's President Sekou Toure, who had sent his troops to the border between the two . countries in a show of support for 1uxon­Smith's government.

Names prominent in the new coup (which was carried out by a group of young non­commissioned officers) were Warrant Officers 1st Colonel Patrick Gordon and Imadu Rogers, and an older officer, Colonel 1 ohn Bangura, long active in politics and hea~ of the Na­tional Interim Council set up by the coup.

Very quickly a new prime minister was se­lected by a majority of acting government officials . who had been in office since the 1967 elections. Their choice was again Siaka Probyn Stevens, who was then 62 years old .

The new Prime Minister, . sworn in on April 26, 1968, was Oxford-educated. He had been active in the labor movement in Sierra Leone, and once had been Mayor of Freeport.

The "Creole" population of under 25,000 still dominated civil service; they were the law­yers, doctors and clergy. The "Leopard men" of the "Poro," a secret tribal society, were still used for political terrorism.

The diamond riches of Sierra Leone have

been both a blessing and a curse. Some leaders think the diamond industry's . place in the economy has been exaggerated at the expense of other development. In the first d~ys of self­government-in the mid 1950's, Dr. Margai and

. his People's Party government were severely criti~ized for not dealing decisively with the illicit diamond digging and smuggling which had become a national political issue and a border problem with Sierra Leone's neighbors.

The country's largest single export, dia­monds, were, until 1956, legally mined exclu­sively by the Sierra Leone Selection Trust at Yen gem a, mostly in the Kono and Ton go areas. At this time illicit diamond digging and smuggling reached its height. It was estimated that more than 30,000 "strangers" had ·entered the country and were illicitly digging dia­monds and smuggling them across the borders int() Guinea and Liberia. Tensions with neigh­boring countries became explosive, and the Sierra Leoneans were aroused as the figure of loss in diamonds rose to an estimated six million pounds. This alone threw off the coun­try's delicate trade halance. ·

The British governor, Sir Maurice Dormer, took action. The mining monopoly was re­stricted to an area of approximately 500 square miles. By 1957 most of the "strangers" had been expelled from the country, and in a short time 75,000 newly licensed Sierra Leoneans were digging, with a diamond corporation set up by the government to evaluate and buy from the "little man." Smuggling continued in a small way and, . going in and out of the country, luggage .was unpacked piece by piece, every article examined, memorized, and neatly and unhurriedly put back. The little country today produces an estimated one-fourth of the world's diamonds. The third largest diamond ever discovered (770 carats) came from the Woxie River in 1945.

The precious diamond gravel lying on the river beds of the Sewa, the 1\!Iale, and the

. w ·oxie rivers is crudely mined by native divers working along miles of riverbed ·when the rivers run shallow in the dry season. Men risk their lives, diving again and again into the

muddy water to scoop up a tro\velful of gravel in one hand while holding on with the other to a pole tripod they have erected in the river."' For miles the rivers bristle with these poles, . sometimes weighted with rocks, mark­ing the gravel patches much as clam beds are staked out. Many men · of Sierra Leone have. given their lives for the handfuls of gTavel

. that may hold a few grains of the sparkling riches.

The Southeast Province is the richest area of the country with the diamond deposits in the Se,va River and the Sefadu diamond mines, plus an abundance of piassava palms, remnants of high forest, and a climate that is proving suitable for growing cacao, coffee, and rice. In the north are the grazing lands of the herds of small Ndama cattle and the l\!Iarampa iron-ore mines on the site of de­posits first discovered in 1926.

Eight out of every ten people depend on the land for their livelihood and food - and the soil does not produce willingly. The heavy rains erod_e and drain the land of valuable properties, and much of the country is still bush, uncleared of scrub and mangrove. The forests, devastated for fifty years as the only source of fuel, now cover less than 5 percent . of the land. Baboons are so numerous along the Liberian borders that they sometimes de­stroy half the cacao crop.

Fishing is more personal and picturesque than productive. Two or three commercial companies use modern trawlers or power­driven fishing boats, . but the fishermen along Lumley Beach still lay their miles of nets in the sea before the gray dawn of day, from little, hollowed-out canoes that bob on the water. When the sun is high, dozens of men heave the huge net& with their swags of fish slowly onto the beach to the rhythm of the songs sung by the Sierra Leone fishermen for generations. The Sherbro fishermen use their ~

unique "toe-line" method. Sitting in their frail canoes with their feet resting on _the gun­whale, they drift over the sea around Sherbro Island with a line in each hand ·and a line -deft! y held by the toes of each foot.

· • Sier·ra Leone 415

Piassava, a fiber extracted from a wild palm that grows in the swamps -and river deltas, is exported for brooms and -brushes all over the world. Bristles from Sherbro and Silim'!- are considered the finest. In the rpid-1950's, due to the departure of many farm laborers to work in the mines, the production of rice slumped and supplies did. not meet local de­mands. But 650,000 acres are now under rice cultivation, and rice is becoming an impor­tant crop. Nevertheless, rice- as well as meat - is imported from Guinea.

Village industries are comprised largely of the pressing of palm oil, the cracking of nuts, coffee-hulling, fish-drying, the scraping of gin­ger, and the weaving of narrow eight-inch strips of the famed Sierra Leone _cloth with

its white and indigo geometrical designs. Small industry consists of rice mills, furni­

ture factories, soap, tile, and mineral-water plants, sawmills, and mills for processing palm <lil and food. By 1964 the production of hand­made aluminum cooking pots had become a small export industry. Fuel oil for .industrial and other needs comes in by pipeline, but the · country has potential hydroelectrk power i~ its many rivers.

It takes some 12,000 waterfront workers to handle the shipping at Freetown Harbor, which is surpassed in size only by the harbors of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Sydney, Austra- -lia. Around 1,200 ships a year pass in and out of the harbor, and . 240 can find anchorage there at the $arne time. T_he remaining wage

The little fish that slip through the net are gathered from the beach and divided up among the wives of the fishermen .

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earners. of the country are for tl1e most part, employed in mining, c01nmerce, clerical work, and railroading. The importance_ of r·ailway maintenance labor is seen when _ noting that .. the famous Freetown-Eo train, in operation since 1899, takes ten hours to cover the 136 -miles of. curves, hills, and many ·bridges, even with Diesel locomotives doing the job since 1958.

Sierra Leone, despite its humid, rainy coastal area with its malaria-breeding swamps that once gave the country the name of "white man's grave," has achieved cre"ditahle health status. It still fights yaws, sleeping sickness, and ma­laria. The British spent millions of pounds on mosquito control. There are thirty hospitals, including one in each district, two private ones run by mining companies, five new ones, Freetown Hospital, and the famous one at Bo, plus sixty medical centers.

Victorian villages, their houses elegantly derelict but not replaced, are hidden among · the palms along Lumley Beach and dotted over the peninsula. The atmosphere of Free­town is completely unlike that of most of Africa's little cities, which are a contrast of mud huts and skyscrapers. Freetown is a stranger to modern Africa as it was to the old, primitive Africa. An incredible sense of being in a small world, once too far ahead, but now a step behind, prevails. Missing is the con­trast, the "brashness," and the movement that permeate life in the rest of Africa. Today Freetown is still a. sleepy Victorian town lei­surely climbing the steep hillside from the huge harbor. But it assumes its status as the oldest European city in West Africa with grace, and it has its own distinctive charm.

The new, small but deluxe Paramount Hotel shames the old City Hotel where Gra­ham Greene lived in a back room while writ­ing The Heart of the Matter~ a best-selling novel that truly captured the Victorian dreari­.ness of the town. The famous cotton-silk tree, more than 300 years old and once called "King Jimmy's gree-gree (amulet) tree," stands in the center of the town. King Jimmy's witch doc-. tors were carving their "gree-gree" from its

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branches when the Black settlers came there in 1787. Sick and weary slaves grew well as · they forgot the terror of slave ships in its shade. Some of the most famous men of Africa studied beneath its rustling leaves while they were students at Fourah Bay College. At night, the stars seem to rest on its massive top · while muffled sounds of drums roll along the waterfront below it. Along Lumley Beach, soft voices among · the banana groves · croon to music strummed on homemade instruments. Shacks patched together with tin catch the moonlight and the sand beaches lie like white velvet carpets along the swishing sea. And soon, somewhere along the thirty-five miles of beaches skirting the Freetown ·peninsula, a large international hotel will be adding tourist dollars to Sierra Leone's treasury if and when the country achieves political stability.

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